Taj Mahal

One of the sights of India is the tomb of the emperor Shah Jehan and his favourite queen. The tomb is the Taj Mahal. Its name means "gem of buildings".

The Taj Mahal is in Agra, India. It was built between three and four centuries ago.

A legend tells that the queen, who was called Mumtaz-i-Mahal, first saw this building in a dream. She saw it so clearly that she remembered it after she wakened. She told the emperor about it and he set to work at once to have it built. No one knows whether the story of the dream is true. We do know that an army^: of workmen spent 22 years in building the Taj Mahal.

The tomb is tall. The tip of the dome reaches as high as an 18-storeyed building. The whole building is of white marble. In places the marble has been carved so that it looks like lace. Inside there is much carving. There is more of the marble lace. In addition, parts of the Koran, the sacred book of the Moslems, have been carved on the walls. In other places the walls are covered with flower designs. Coloured stones such as jasper¹ and cornelian² are set in the white stone.

The building would not be so beautiful if it were not in such a beautiful setting. Much of the ground around is paved with red sand­stone. There are pools of quiet water that reflect the dome and the slender towers. Round about there is a beautiful garden.

Many people think that the Taj Mahal is the most beautiful build ing in-the whole world.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20