The Taj Mahal is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the finest example of the late style of Indian architecture. It is at Agra in northern India. It lies beside the River Jumna in the middle of gardens with quiet pools.

　　The Taj Mahal was built by the Mogul emperor Shah Jehan, who ruled India in the seventeenth century. It is in memory of his favourite wife, Arjumand Banu Bagam, known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631. The building, which was completed between 1632 and 1638, was designed by a local Muslim architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori. The whole building, with gardens and gateway structures, was completed in 1643. The Taj Mahal stands at one end of the garden tomb with marble path. The room is softly lighted by the light that passes through double screens of carved marble set high in the walls. The building now is kept in good condition.

　　The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build. Shah Jehan planned a similar building, but in black instead of white, to lie on the other side of the river. But before it could be built, Shah Jehan was imprisoned by his son and buried next to his wife in the Taj Mahal.

　　Section_ⅠIntroduction & Reading - Pre­reading

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