Year of construction:
From 1632 to 1653
Material:
White marble
Cost of building:
32 million Indian Rupees
Built by:
Shah Jahan (the Mogul emperor)
Architect:
Ustad Ahmad Lahauri
Location:
Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Entrance fee:
1000 Rupees for foreigners
Yearly visitors:
7-8 million people
Taj Mahal Facts
1. The Taj Mahal was created by Emperor Shah Jahan for his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal.
2. The Taj Mahal stands in the middle of a complex covering 170,000 m².
3. Approximately 7 to 8 million people visit the Taj Mahal in a single year.
4. The Taj Mahal stands 73 meters tall at its highest point.
5. Indian tourists pay only 50 INR to visit the Taj Mahal.
6. In contrast, foreign tourists must pay 1,100 INR to visit the Taj Mahal.
7. The Taj Mahal inspired a new evolution for Mughal architecture.
8. The Taj Mahal’s color can change based on the light of the time of day.
9. The Taj Mahal’s construction materials came from all over the world.
10. The Taj Mahal cost millions to build around 52.8 billion INR, or $827 million.
11. Mumtaz Mahal was the first to get buried at the Taj Mahal. After his passing, his son Emperor Aurangzeb, had Shah Jahan buried next to Mumtaz Mahal.
12. Construction on the Taj Mahal began in 1632 and finished in 1648.
13. Storms damaged the Taj Mahal in 2018 and 2020.
14. Records estimate it took 22,000 people and 1,000 elephants to build the Taj Mahal.
15. Tourists can only stay at the Taj Mahal for up to 3 hours at a time.
16. The Taj Mahal’s mosque holds prayers every Friday from 12 to 2 in the afternoon.
17. Tourists can go night viewing at the Taj Mahal during full moons.
18. The Taj Mahal closes during the month of Ramadan.
19. The Taj Mahal’s design is specifically meant to protect the tombs.
20. The tomb contains 99 different names of Allah as calligraphic inscriptions.
21. The Taj Mahal is taller than Qutub Minar.
22. With over 100 million votes UNESCO World Heritage classified the Taj as one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ in the year 2007.
23. Over the period of time, the white marble of Taj seemed to be turning yellow due to the air pollution.
24. It was covered with a huge scaffold which made it to appear like stockpile of bamboo.
25. The name Taj Mahal means ‘Crown Palace’ in Persian.
26. Shah Jahan's other wives and favorite servants are buried outside the Taj Mahal.
27. Mumtaz Mahal lost her life giving birth to Shah Jahan’s 14th child.
28. The makers employed an optical trick so that as you move closer to the gate, the Taj keeps getting smaller.