Find out some of the interesting and unknown facts about one of the 7 wonders of the world "TAJ MAHAL".

Taj Mahal is indeed a beautiful place. When you visit, make sure you take a picture of yourself and your spouse with the mausoleum as the background...who knows, the love that the emperor had for his wife to dedicate this kind of resources for her remembrance after death might rub off on you.

One of the most significant Mughal Empire architectural marvels still stands in all its beauty and finesse in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The Taj Mahal is a white marble built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. In Arabic, the Taj Mahal is known as "crown of palaces". It is said to be the jewel of Islamic art in a nation that is predominantly Hindu. As if to show case the expanse of the Mughal Empire, it combines architectures from all the corners of the Empire including Islamic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles.

Below are some facts that you may find interesting about Taj Mahal :-

THE TAJ MAHAL WAS BUILT TO HONOR THE FAVORITE WIFE OF AN EMPEROR.

Like many of his predecessors, Shah Jahan married several wives over the course of his adult life. Although Shah Jahan spread his heart around, none of these ladies found quite the same favor as his third wife (but first love), Arjumand Banu Begum, more famously known as Mumtaz Mahal. Their union lasted 19 years and led to the birth of 14 children. Complications during the birth of the final child led to Mahal’s untimely passing at the age of 39. Shah Jahan was so stricken by the loss of his longtime companion that he decided to memorialize Mahal with a spectacular tomb. Construction on the Mahal and its surroundings began in 1632, one year after her death, and continued for just over two decades.

THERE IS A SMALL HOLE ON A CEILING OF THE MAIL HALL PERPENDICULAR ABOVE THE TOMBSTONE OF MUMTAZ MAHAL.

According to stories it is the work of an artisan who decided to sabotage Shah Jehan 's dream of creating a masterpiece after he came to know about his decision to amputate all the artisan's arms. So the Taj is not as flawless as we would like to think it is.

THE ONLY PART OF THE MAUSOLEUM THAT IS NOT ORNATELY DECORATED IS THE ACTUAL GRAVE.

Per Muslim law, graves cannot be adorned with elaborate decoration, which would be an inappropriate expression of vanity. This rule explains the comparatively drab design of the lower level of the palace where Shah Jahan laid his wife to rest.

THE PALACE WAS DESIGNED SO THAT EVERYTHING WOULD FALL AWAY FROM THE TOMB IN THE EVENT OF A COLLAPSE

The placement of the Taj Mahal’s four minarets—the 130-foot-tall spires at the edge of the platform—was not an aesthetic choice but a strategic one. In the 17th century, it was hardly uncommon for massive architectural ventures to fall victim to their own weight. In order to protect the crypt of Mumtaz Mahal, chief architect Ustad Ahmad Lahauri tilted the towers slightly so that they would fall away from the rest of the Taj Mahal, preventing the grave from incurring any damages.

THE ASI HAD TO CONCEAL THE TAJ MAHAL DURING WW-II WITH A HUGE SCAFFOLD TO MISGUIDE BOMBERS.

One of the most majestic man-made creations, the Taj was covered with a huge scaffold in the 20th Century so that it looked like a stockpile of bamboo to bombers. Then d uring the India- Pakistan war in 1971, and after 9/11, it was protected by camouflaging it with a green cloth.

THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A PLAN FOR A SECOND, BLACK TAJ MAHAL.

A 1665 voyage to the Indian state of Uttar Prudesh left French explorer Jean-Baptiste Tavernier with stories of a colorful encounter with Shah Jahan just one year before the ruler’s death. Tavernier’s supposed conversation gave rise to the legend that Shah Jahan had abandoned plans to build a second palace across the Yamuna River. This mausoleum was supposedly meant to house the crypt to Shah Jahan himself, and was envisioned as a black complement to the Taj Mahal’s white façade.

THE STORY OF THE ARMS OF ALL THE ARTISANS BEING AMPUTATED BY IS PROBABLY A MYTH BECAUSE THE ARCHITECT WORKED ON OTHER PROJECTS TOO.

The architect who lead the team of architects to build the Taj mahal laid the foundation of the Red fort too. Ustad Ahmed Lahauri, was probably the leader of the architect's team. Seeing that Shah Jehan commissioned him to work on a project after Taj means he was clearly using both his arms!

A TEMPLE WAS BUILD FOR CONMAN NATWARLAL, WHO SOLD TAJ MAHAL 4-5 TIMES.

Natwarlal who repeatedly sold the Taj Mahal , has a temple on his name. The people of his native village Bangra in Bihar decided to put up a statue of him as his monument, at the place, where his house once stood.

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