Taj Mahal

There are famous landmarks all around the globe. Sometimes I will go out of my way to visit them, and sometimes I will not. On my first trip to India, I did not feel the need to make the journey to the Taj Mahal. But on my second trip, Erin and I traveled to Agra so we could see it for ourselves and take this snapshot.

We toured the site and learned the story behind it: the famous love story of Shah Jahan and his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631 while giving birth to their fourteenth child. Devastated by her death, Shah Jahan commissioned this extraordinary monument as a memorial to her. Construction began the following year and took more than twenty years to complete, employing thousands of craftsmen and artisans from across the Mughal Empire and beyond. The white marble structure is decorated with intricate carvings and delicate inlays of precious and semi-precious stones, many of which shimmer in the walls when the light changes.

Seeing the Taj Mahal in person was memorable. People come here for the monument and the story it tells. Standing before it, you understand why this single building has become one of the most recognized landmarks in the world.