Taj mahal

Mausoleum in Agra, India

Taj Mahal was built in 22 years (1631-1653) with the orders of Shah Jahan and it was dedicated To Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shah. 20.000 workers labored and 32 crore

 rupees were spent during the construction of the monument and it was built according to Islamic

architecture.

Commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the remains of his cherished wife,

the Taj Mahal stands on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in Agra, India.

The famed mausoleum complex, built over more than 20 years, is one of the most outstanding examples

of Mughal architecture, which combined Indian, Persian and Islamic influences.

 At its center is the Taj Mahal itself, built of shimmering white marble that seems to change color

depending on the sunlight or moonlight hitting its surface. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage

site in 1983, it remains one of the world’s most celebrated structures and a stunning symbol

of India’s rich history.

                                     TAJ MAHAL ARCHITECTURE

  

              Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal

Taj Mahal is the epitome of Mughal art and one of the most famous buildings in the world.

Yet there have been few serious studies of it and no full analysis of its architecture and meaning.

Ebba Koch, an important scholar, has been permitted to take measurements of the complex and

has been working on the palaces and gardens of Shah Jahan for thirty years and on

the Taj Mahal itself—the tomb of the emperor's wife, Mumtaz Mahal —for a decade.

The tomb is the representation of the house of the queen in Paradise, and its setting was

based on the palace gardens of the great nobles that lined both sides of the river at Agra India.

You will explore the entire complex of the Taj Mahal with an explanation of each

building and an account of the mausoleum's urban setting, its design and construction,

its symbolic meaning, and its history up to the present day.

TOP PLACES in TAJ MAHAL

1. Taj Mahal

2. Taj Mahal Garden

3. Great Gate

4. Agra India

5. How to reach Agra

6. Jilaukhana (Forecourt)

7. Jama Masjid

8. - Screen

9. Mosque & Mihman Khana

10.Riverfront Terrace

Rome in Italy

ROME TRAVEL WITH OPEN HEART

Rome is a city and special  in Italy. Rome is the capital of Italy and region of Lazio. With 2.9 million residents in 1,285 km² (496.1 sq mi), it is also the country's largest and most populated commune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population

within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome has a population of 4.3 million residents. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of Tiber river. Vatican City is an independent country within the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.

Rome's history spans more than two and a half thousand years. Although Roman tradition states the founding of Rome around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited much earlier, being one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe. The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and Sabine’s. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded as one of the birthplaces of Western civilization. It is referred to as "Roma Aeterna" (The Eternal City)  and "Caput Mundi" (Capital of the World), two central notions in ancient Roman culture.

After the Fall of the Empire, which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Pope, which had settled in the city since the 1st century AD, until in the 8th century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870.

Beginning with the Renaissance, almost all the popes since Nicholas V (1422–55) pursued coherently along four hundred years an architectonic and urbanistic program aimed to make of the city the world's artistic and cultural center.Due to that, Rome became first one of the major centers of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of the Baroque style. Famous artists and architects of the Renaissance and Baroque period made Rome the center of their activity, creating masterpieces throughout the city. In 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic.

Rome has the status of a global city. In 2011, Rome was the 18th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the world's most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).