Love Made of Marble

How do you express your feeling when you lose your loved ones?

Eric Clapton composed "Tears in Heaven" for his child. A very beautiful, touching song, which can bring tears to your eyes when you sing it while remembering the late ones you loved so much.

B.J. Habibie wrote his memoir, "Habibie & Ainun" right after his wife died. A movie based on the memoir was released in 2012 and gained a big success. Not less than 4.7 million people have seen the movie. 

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan had his own way to have the object of remembrance of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It's a token of love, made entirely of white marble. When I visited the monument, what came to my mind was how strong Shah Jahan's love for his wife. The mausoleum is called Taj Mahal, تاج محل after the wife's name.

Under the hot blazing sun of Agra, Uttar Pradesh Province, I walked around and inside the monument and was awed by the beauty of it.

It is an "elegy in marble" or some say an expression of a "dream."

The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".

It was constructed over a period of twenty-two years, employing twenty thousand workers. It was completed in 1648 C.E. at a cost of 32 Million Rupees. The construction documents show that its master architect was Ustad ‘Isa, the renowned Islamic architect of his time. The documents contain names of those employed and the inventory of construction materials and their origin. Expert craftsmen from Delhi, Qannauj, Lahore, and Multan were employed. In addition, many renowned Muslim craftsmen from Baghdad, Shiraz and Bukhara worked on many specialized tasks.

The Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Wikipedia

Address: आगरा, उत्तर प्रदेश 282001, India

Height: 171 m

Architectural style: Mughal architecture

Architects: Ustad Ahmad Lahouri, Ustad Isa

Burials: Shah Jahan, Arjumand Banu

Function: Monument, Mausoleum

The Taj Mahal (/ˈtɑːdʒ məˈhɑːl/ often /ˈtɑːʒ/;^[2] Hindi: ताज महल, from Persian/Urdu: تاج محل‎, ultimately from Arabic,^[3][4] "crown of palaces",pronounced [ˈt̪aːdʒ mɛˈɦɛl]; also "the Taj"^[5]) is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughalemperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. 

Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Islamic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles.^[7][8]

In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen.^[9] The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision, including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.^[10][11] Lahauri^[12] is generally considered to be the principal designer.^[13][14]