Almost everyone has read about the Taj Mahal in India. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Over three hundred years ago Shah Jehan built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife.

　　Shah Jehan wanted his wife's tomb to be perfect. He did not care about time or money He brought together workmen from all Asia. Altogether, over 20,000 men worked on the building,and it took them over seventeen years to finish it. The building rests on a platform of red sandstone. Four thin white towers, or minarets, rise from the corners of the terrace. A large dome rises from the center of the building.Around this large dome there are four smaller domes. The building is made of fine white marble with inlays of colored marble. It has eight sides and many open arches. There is an open corridor just inside the outer walls. From this corridor the visitor looks through carved marble screens to a central room. The bodies of Shah Jehan and his wife lie in a tomb below this room.

　　A beautiful garden surrounds the Taj Mahal. The green trees make the marble look even white. In front of the main entrance to the building there is Taj Mahal in the reflection from the water.