The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983 and constructed over years with the main architect being Ustad-Ahmad Lahori.
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built between 1631 and 1648 in Agra by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his favorite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum; she is better known as Mumtaz Mahal, whom he married in 1612. She died on 1631 after giving birth to their 14th child, Gauhar Ara Begum, from postpartum hemorrhage after being in labor for over 30 hours.
The Taj Mahal suffered from neglect in the years following Shah Jahan’s death but Lord Curzon, the British viceroy of India during the turn of the 19th century, ordered a major restoration of the Taj Mahal as part of the British’s colonial efforts to preserve India’s rich cultural heritage. Join us on our travel club’s next group adventure to India!
