Secrets of the Taj Mahal

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The Taj Mahal, symbol of India

architectural jewel,

monument to a grand passion

The Taj Mahal was built

in the 17th century

by Shan Jahan, king of the world

ruler of India's mighty Mughal Empire

This great warrior king gave the

world an architectural masterpiece

have a kind it never seen before

this is how it came to be made.

It's also the legend of his

queen the beautiful Mumtaz Mahal

And of that love to perfect to survive.

the choosen one of the palace

will have her final resting place

in the world's most beautiful building

but the magnificent chamber at

the Taj Mahal hide the secret

and Shah Jehan will pay a terrible

price to complete his life's work

as a turning point in India's history

today the Taj Mahal is one of the

world greatest tourist attractions

every year more than three million peole

come to see humanities lovliest building

to see humanities lovliest

building with their own eyes

but for the Indian Nation

the Taj Mahal is much more than

an architectural masterpiece

This is one of the monuments

that makes India what it is

gives people their

identity, makes them proud

This building is the

symbol for the whole nation

The Taj Mahal was built in the most

glorious periods of Indian history

the time of the Moguls

with their mighty Empire

and fabulous riches

Its creator, a man who

dedicated his life to a dream,

the great Mughal Shan Jehan

The building that emerged from his plans

perfectly combines of grace

and scale, power and beauty

The Taj Mahal, Crown of the Palace

the inner center of the Taj is a tomb

for Mumtaz Mahal, the

love of Shan Jehan's life

in his memory the great Mughal created

this etternal love poem in stone

the building of the Taj commence in 1632

an armies and elephants began to

dragging construction materials

to the Mughal Capital

This would be the biggest

building project of the age

in a few short years, shale

Taj Mahal was completed

ready to be clad in flawless and marble

at colossal expense

the location of the Taj on the bank

of Yamuna river was a special challenge

"Close to water you ready to

ground find solid enough to build on

so you had to dig down

until you hit hard dry earth

they came up the brilliant

solution to this problem

that still used today in slightly different

form. They decided to build a well foundation

that was a revolutionary

idea for those time

the great Mughal engineer dig deep wells

to below the water table.

and fill them up with rock and mortar.

On the space The Master

Builders erect stone collumn

linked together by massive arches

The result, a solid mountain of stone

to support the Foundation

slap with the building

protecting the Taj from the

current of the Yamuna River, forever

The Taj Mahal must always stand as a

testament to the eternal power of love

it will be the legacy of Shah Jehan

Shah Jehan was the favorite son

of the Emperor, the Great Mogul,

raised in a world of

the wealth and splendid.

In 1607, he granted a rare honor.

on his lunar birthday, his

weight in gold and precious stone.

that doesn't mean he's been chosen

to become the new Great Mogul

but there are high hopes

for this young prince

and great dangers too

his own brothers as

his deadliest rivals.

The firstborn Prince does

not always become king

all the rulers sons will

fight to claim the throne

even to the death

the education of the

crowds means nothing

the court chronicles will be

our guide to Shah Jahan's life

to its triumphs and disasters

the prince is given a child bride

an arranged marriage

for political reasons

it couldn't been an empty contract

but this love will lust for eternity

10 years later the

prince is 25 years old.

His star shines brighter than ever.

He is fourth the enemies of the

Emperor winning victory after victory

as a reward his father

gives in the title

Shah Jahan King of the world

the capital of the Mughal Empire is

the great city of Agra in northern India

the location of the giant Red Fort

the center imperial power and

wanna India's mightiest stronghold

the ruling moguls and their

families live in magnificent palaces

inside the fort

here women of his Harem

see to Shah Jehan every week

but his favorite by far is

his childhood love Mumtaz Mahal

Shah Jehan calls her the

chosen one of the palace

from the Chronicles we know this royal

couple were specially close for those time

there impression which

one gathers is that

this is a strong personal

element of personal

that is a bit of romance

it is usually said

that the concept of love

is a very European concept

because in the Eastern World

you have the emotion of love

which is in person love for the daddies

love for idol love for

father love for institutions

love for religion spirit

will love but not romanticly

but Shah Jehan's

memorial to Mumtaz Mahal

is the world's most exquisite

symbol of romantic love

every day countless visitors

are enthralled by the Taj Mahal

partly because its Mogul architect's

use some remarkable optical tricks

the first view of the monument

is framed by the main gate

as the visitor moves closer the

Taj Mahal seems to get smaller

it seems to grow

bigger as you walk away.

the guides here say..

when you leave you take the

Taj with you, in your heart

an optical trick went into the

building at the minarets too

they lean slightly outwards

if they were truly vertical they

would seem to be leaning inwards

by leaning away from each other

they look perfectly upright

and that brings another advantage

in an earthquake the minarets

will collapse outwards

sparing the Taj and it's mighty dome

the dome is the crowning

glory of the Taj Mahal

the element that makes it

so timeless and graceful

today we have other options

we can build giant supporting

structures and steel for dome like that

we have other materials

they have to solve all

their problems in stones

they laid stone on stone and

built up the diamond rings

the dome rises layer by layer

the mortar between the

stones gives its stability

the result is self-supporting with

new reinforcing struck so columns

the weight if the Dome is

transferred directly downwards

to the massive masonry below

the Dome is more than 40 meters high

and four meters thick

it it seems to float

over the model for some a

miracle of stress calculation

still admired by engineers. for

over three hundred and fifty years

this dome has been the ultimate

expression local architecture

1621 the Mogul Empire

is at a turning point

the Emperor Shah Jahan's

father is desperately ill

his son's a gathering in

the shadow of the throne

ready to fill the vacum of power

Shah Jehan knows that

his moment has come

nothing will stop him in

his lust for absolute power

no means a ruled out not even poison

when the Great Mogul finally dies

Shah Jehan has his rivals eliminate

brotherly love means nothing

when the prize is so great

there wasn't notion of family

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