Extract from Lonely Planets guide to India

TAJ MAHAL
The Monument for Love

Described as the most extravagant monument ever built for love, this poignant Mughal mausoleum has become the de facto tourist emblem of India. It was constructed by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, whose death in childbirth in 1631 left the emperor so heartbroken that his hair is said to have turned grey overnight.

ARCHITECTURAL MARVEL
The grand red sandstone gateway in the interior forecourt is inscribed with verses from the Koran in Arabic. Paths leading from the gate to the Taj are divided by a long watercourse in which the Taj is reflected. The ornamental gardens through which the paths lead are set out along classical Mughal charbagh lines - a square quartered by watercourses.

The Taj Mahal itself stands on a raised marble platform on the northern edge of the ornamental gardens. Tall, white minarets grace each corner of the platform. Twin red sandstone buildings frame the building.

Although the Taj is amazingly graceful from almost any angle, it's the close-up detail which is really astounding. Semiprecious stones are inlaid into the marble in beautiful patterns using a process known as pietra dura. The precision and care which went into the Taj Mahal's design and construction is just as impressive whether you view it from across the river or from arm's length.

Construction of the Taj began in the same year and was not completed until 1653. In total, 20,000 people from India and Central Asia worked on the building. The main architect is believed to have been Isa Khan, who was from Shiraz in Iran. Experts were also brought from Europe - Austin of Bordeaux and Veroneo of Venice both had a hand in the Taj's decoration.

The most unusual (but almost certainly apocryphal) story about the Taj is that there might well have been two of them. Shah Jahan, it is said, intended to build a second Taj as his own tomb in black marble, a negative image of the white Taj of Mumtaz Mahal. Before he could embark on this second masterpiece he was deposed by his son, Aurangzeb. Shah Jahan spent the rest of his life imprisoned in the Agra Fort, looking out along the river to the final resting place of his wife.