When emperor Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died in childbirth in 1631, the heartbroken Indian emperor decided she must have a memorial as beautiful as she.
So he ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal, a white marble memorial believed to have been designed by a Persian or Turkish architect named Ustad Isa Afandi. Afandi drew from many cultures in designing the symmetrical complex: the concept of the ornate garden tomb came from Afghanistan, the decorative motifs from Shiraz, the domes from Turkey, and the use of pools of water as mirrors from Kashmir.
Shah Jahan called in workers from India, Asia and as far away as Europe. They worked for 22 years in the city of Agra creating the mausoleum. Later, the emperor was buried in the memorial alongside his wife.
Today the Taj Mahal is one of the main tourist attractions of India.
