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"The Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal at Agra stands in a formally
laid-out walled garden entered through a pavilion on the main axis. The
tomb, raised on a terrace and first seen reflected in the central canal,
is entirely sheathed in marble, but the mosque and counter-mosque on the
transverse axis are built in red sandstone. The four minarets, set symmetrically
about the tomb, are scaled down to heighten the effect of the dominant,
slightly bulbous dome. The mosques, built only to balance the composition
are set sufficiently far away to do no more than frame the mausoleum.
In essence, the whole riverside platform is a mosque courtyard with a
tomb at its centre. The great entrance gate with its domed central chamber,
set at the end of the long watercourse, would in any other setting be
monumental in its own right." .  
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