The Taj Mahal, a structure of white marble and red sandstone, is located on the right bank of the Jamuna in Agra, North India, as a tremendous memento of eternal love. Shah Jahan, the Mogul Emperor, devoted seventeen years (1631-1648) and a lot of money to the construction of this magnificent mausoleum in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the "Chosen One of the Palace".

It stands on the northern part of a huge rectangular site with an octagonal pavilion at each corner. Most of the site is taken up by a twin in four parts (the Char Bagh). This is a representation of the Garden of Paradise in the Persian tradition, based on a symmetrical design. It contains squares of different sizes, bordered by channels that run at right angles to the central square basin.

Although the Taj Mahal has been robbed of its most precious objects, it proves to be an unsurpassed example of the opulent architecture of the Moguls given the layout of the space around the pattern of squares and crosses. Moreover, it is an example of an innovative combination of the Persian-Islamic tradition - visible in the squares, interior spaces and onion domes - and the Hindu architecture, which is evident from the use of a lot of stone.