Book 1 The Taj Mahal Photo Album

In this courtyard the main gateway to the Taj and its gardens was built, a huge doorway made of red sandstone (150 by 100 ft.) facing towards the south. The lofty central arch contains double storied wings and octagonal towers attached to each side crowned by 22 small domes.
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Detached gateways have long been a traditional feature of Muslim architecture and can be found fronting tombs and mosques throughout the East. To the Muslim, such entranceways might symbolically represent the gates to Paradise. Metaphysically, they can represent the transition point between the outer world of the senses and the inner world of the spirit.

Inside the arch 128 rooms were built with hallways that wind and divide in such apparent abandon that they seem intentionally built to confuse. The have remained unused for three centuries and their original purpose still mystifies Taj historians. The gateway was richly embellished with floral arabesques fashioned from gemstones inlaid in white marble and marble Quranic inscriptions. Upon seeing the Taj through the gateway it looks like a miniature, small and far away. This is another illusion. As one walks towards the building it begins to get larger and larger until, when the base is reached, it seems huge. The dome especially seems to expand as one comes near, almost as if it were being slowly inflated.

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