It was begun in 1630, and twenty thousand
workmen were employed upon it for seventeen years. History says that one
hundred and forty thousand cartloads of pink sandstone and marble were
brought from the quarries of Rajputana; and every province of the empire
furnished precious stones to adorn it. Its cost was from ten to fifteen
millions of dollars.
The golden crescent of the Taj is two hundred and seventy feet above the
level of the river. The magnificent temple is placed in the centre of a
garden nine hundred and sixty feet long by three hundred and thirty in
width, filled with avenues flanked with cypress-trees, and planted with
flowers, on a terrace of sandstone. In the centre of this garden is a
marble platform, two hundred and eighty-five feet on all sides, and fifteen
feet high, which may be called the pedestal of the mosque. The principal
entrance to the garden is more elaborate and beautiful than the fronts of
many noted mosques, for it is adorned with towers crowned with cupolas.
Entering the enclosure, and walking along the avenue of cypress-trees, one
obtains his first view of the great dome of the Taj. It looks like about
three-fourths of a globe, capped with a slender spire. From this point,
through the trees, may be seen a forest of minarets, cupolas, towers, and
inferior domes. The mausoleum is in the form of an irregular octagon, the
longest side being one hundred and twenty feet in length.
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