The Taj Mahal is the most photographed and discussed building in history. This impossibly beautiful marble monument, the Poem in Marble, took over 22,000 laborers 22 years to build and was built to commemorate the love of Emperor Shah Jahaan for his empress, Mumtaz Mahal.
One of the finest examples of Indian workmanship to be found in marble, it is superbly decorated with abstract designs, floral decorations, calligraphy, marble inlay work and shallow sculpted marble panels. Stone inlay was a special technique developed in India to decorate stone and wall surfaces. Even today, in Agra, you can find artisans making miniature models of the Taj in marble and preparing decorative plates, tables and boxes with fine inlay work.

The Taj Mahal is one of the images conjured most frequently in terms of Islamic architecture. Although Islamic architecture is difficult to define collectively, the Taj Mahal seems to represent its essence and strongest characteristic -- the ability of the Islamic religion and its leaders to venture into foreign regions and meld the best features of that place with its own to create unique works of architecture.
The Taj Mahal is often noted as a monument to love , but it can also be seen as a fusion of architectural traditions and, as such, a monument to multiculturalism.
This can be said about many Islamic structures and about many architectural monuments butsome background on the Taj Mahal and this period reveals that this is especially true here.