Personal Narrative: My Visit to Agra and the Taj Mahal Essay

Two buildings, the Hagia Sophia and the Great Mosque of Cordoba, can show us two separate peoples and their approach to constructing architecture that was devoted to their religions. However, while religion played a huge role, there are similarities as well between the two that show that the rulers who commissioned these buildings were interested in mimicking beauty and showing the world that their building was the most beautiful and perhaps the most elite of its time as well as proving their divinity as a ruler of a great nation.

The most beautiful building among these is the Mosque. The Mosque was built in early 1990's and is American built, almost entirely by local architects and local artists. There is a fountain in front of the Mosque and a second fountain inside the vestibule. These fountains have come from as far away as Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia and are merely for decoration though in older times fountains were used for washing before prayer.

Burial sight of mumtaz mahal wife of Shah Jahan. A building made of white marble inlaid with precious stones and is still today of the most beautiful buildings in

One of the most striking was my grandfather’s temple in the small town of Mahoba where my father grew up. I spent a great deal of my childhood here, thus the pastel pink walls, intricate flower designs, and open layout immediately sparked flashbacks. I remembered the lenghas, traditional dresses, I would pick out to wear even though they were much more formal than the usual attire. I remembered waiting until no one was looking to sneak over to where everyone removed their shoes to try on my mom’s high heeled sandals. I remembered seeing my Dada, grandfather, leading the poojas, religious services, and feeling proud seeing how respected and genuine he was.

Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t think you could do it? Well I have many times and I’m going to write about a time during Rodeo when I didn’t think I was going to be able to do well in goat tying.

As my chosen work of art is the The Mihrab, it was a remarkable experience to visit the The Metropolitan Museum of Art. After a two hour long commute, which includes two train switch and one wrong train, my friend and I were finally able to locate this museum. As lavish as it is on the outside, it also does not disappoints on the inside. The Metropolitan Museum left me spellbinding with its aura of artistic treasures from multiple eras. However, my favorite work of art belongs to the Islamic art period, the Mihrab. The Mihrab is a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla—that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca—and it contains typical patterns and calligraphy from the Islamic art period.

The first piece of architectural art to look at is the Taj Mahal. It was constructed as a mausoleum for the wife of Shah Jahan’s favorite wife after her death following complications of childbirth (Kapadia, n.d.). It became so famous that its design was even replicated as a casino in Atlantic City, although that became a mausoleum for the cash of its investors. When someone looks at the Taj Mahal for the first time, the thing that stands out the most is the use of white marble in its construction. Almost everything in the Taj Mahal was created with white marble. Next to be noticed would be both the domes and minarets that make up the monument. These are key tenets of the Mughal style that was used in building it. So too is the calligraphy that adorns almost all of the gateways and

World famous and believed to be created in the first hundred years AD, the Al Khazneh in Petra of Jordan was once used as a mausoleum or a crypt (Macaulay-Lewis, n.d.). This building is now a tourist attraction and has been made famous by being featured in films from around the world.

As you can see our goal is to cause a great impact in our community by opening their eyes to the impressive and wonderful world of Indian Civilization by becoming an appealing, interactive and modern institution. In addition to all the previously exposed we want to fulfill our obligation with the environment by decorating our building with hanging gardens around the façade, and a green area with endemic vegetal species; this will address the sentiment of the ancient cultures regarding the respect for

the ancient Tikal temple but the temple I have presented is between the third to twentieth one

This Madrasa is especially significant, because it is one of the earliest pieces of Islamic architecture to still be standing today. It was also one of the first Islamic architectural buildings to employ to use of decorated floral mosaic tiles which was uncommon during the Ilkhanid period but later mastered by the Timurids. Earlier mosaic designs were strictly geometric, but this new floral pattern gained popularity as time passed. While walking through the museum I was fascinated by several secular and religious pieces of art from the Islamic region. The reason that I chose to analyze this piece over the other exhibits was a result of my interest in mosque architecture, and because this was as close as I was able to get to an ancient piece of Islamic architecture. I have seen many qibla walls, many qurans, and many mihrabs, but this specific one was unlike the modern prayer niches in the mosques that I visit, it was a spectacular masterpiece of polychrome mosaic and it was unlike any religious architectural exhibit in the western world. It’s impossible to ignore the important role that the east Asian ideas of the Mongol empire played in the religious architecture of the Ilkhanid period, and had the Ilkhanids not been so heavily influenced by Mongol traditions their architecture would have had a completely different look and feel.

Next, my mother told me this mosque is the biggest one, and the second religious buildings, also it has the tallest minaret in the world. This mosque has a roof made of light steel, and decorated with cedar wood which opens in 3 minutes for bringing fresh air during the summer. Also, this mosque has many chandeliers made in crystal. The location of this mosque is right by the sea overlooking the Atlantic ocean,

Located in Agra, India the ______________________ was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

Taj Mahal is one of the famous monument situated in Agra, India built by the great Mughal Emperor Shan Jahan in dedication to his wife. The building was built between 1631 and 1648 by a famous architect Ustad Ahmad Lahouri with the help of more than 20,000 workers to complete the work. Taj Mahal was built in the remembrance of Shan Jahan’s third wife Mumtaz Mahal. This monument stands out for the internal love towards his wife. The building was built out with marvelous white marbles, also different types of marbles from many regions have. Taj Mahal is considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world. People of India is really proud to have a monument which took place in the seven wonders of the world. The real intent was to create a monument that would be matchless in beauty and magnificence and continuing inheritance, a masterpiece for the eternities to come, to assure his place in history. In 2007 the Official Declaration Ceremony took place and acknowledged Taj Mahal as the new seven wonders of the world. Along with The Great Wall of China, Petra, Chichén Itzá, The Statue of Christ Redeemer, the Colosseum, Machu Picchu. The Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally masterpieces of the world's heritage for Islamic community to worship and one of the engaged tourist site. According to history Taj Mahal is famous in India because of its significance in its culture, architecture, design, myths and legend and tourism.

The Taj Mahal is a prime example of India’s rich culture. A mix of Indian, Persian and Islamic characteristics, the two decade long project is a renowned “Wonder of the World” that boasts an emotional and romantic history; it was built by Emperor Shah Jahan of the Mughal era in a splendid tribute to his deceased wife. To this day, the Taj Mahal continues to be a famous landmark and cherished piece of Indian art.