The Taj Mahal is a beautiful and famous building in Agra, India. It was built by Shah Jahan after his wife died and was used as her tomb. The word "shah" means leader.
You can see pictures to the right. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This building has many parts and beautiful gardens around it. Depending on the time of day and location of moon and sun, the Taj Mahal can be many different colors.
The Taj Mahal was built rather quickly but adding the surrounding gardens and other parts took 22 years total and over 20,000 workers to complete. It was made of white marble and many precious stones. It cost $320 million rupees to build. Rupees is the money used in India today. That equals about $3.8 million US dollars.
This building is also know for its perfect symmetry; it is exactly as wide as it is tall. The word Taj means "crown" and Mahal means "palace." So together, it means "Crown Palace."
The Shah Jahan planned to build an exact replica in black marble across the river. It was for his tomb. It was never built and he was buried next to his wife instead.
The Taj Mahal is still standing today and in great shape. It is the most famous building in the country of India. Millions of tourists (people visiting) travel to see it each year. The actual graves of the Shah and his wife are closed to the public, but people still like to visit this building. It is a landmark for India. A landmark is an object or building that is easily seen and recognized from a distance. Famous landmarks in the United States are the Statue of Liberty and Mt. Rushmore.