The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is an iconic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the Yamuna River in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The mausoleum is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens.

Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643, but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees. The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by Ustad Ahmed Lahori.

The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage." It is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India's rich history. It attracts 7-8 million visitors a year and in 2007, it was declared a winner of the New7Wonders of the World initiative.