The Taj Mahal by Kayley

                The white marble in India is supposed to be the hardest and best quality marble in the world.  Taj Mahal (which means crown palace) is made of white marble and on the walls there were designs in semi-precious stones that are inlaid into the marble.   There were designs carved into the white marble of very real flowers that was very COOL art.   

            The 5^th Mughal emperor of India whose name was Shahjahan had the Taj Mahal built for his 2^nd wife who died after having his 14^th child. The Taj Mahal was a tomb for the empress and it is AMAZING!   It took 22 years to build the Taj Mahal and about 23,000 workers.   After the Taj Mahal was built, the workers were not allowed to leave Agra because the emperor didn’t want the workers to build a structure like the Taj Mahal anywhere else.  The emperor paid the workers for the rest of their lives and let the worker’s family’s come to Agra.  I thought that Shahjahan was sort of a nice emperor to do that, but he was selfish too.

            After seeing the Taj Mahal the guide and the driver took us to the place where they inlay the semi-precious in really pretty floral designs to make really pretty table tops and souvenirs. First the owner guy showed us the tools they use to carve out the marble and to carve the semi-precious stones. All the stone is carved by hand and it takes 2 months for two people to make one table top that is about one foot in diameter.  And I wish I knew how they make their flower leaves so constantly the same shape and size and how they know how to grind their stones into the right shape for the design. 

          The process of making the designs is really cool.  First, they cut the semi-precious stones into the right shape for the pattern.  Then, they place the flowers onto the marble palate that they are going to make the design on. Then they trace the design on the palate and start carving the hollows for the stones to go in.  When the carving is done, they fill the hollows with this mixture of plaster of Paris, lye, Portland cement and some herbs and spices and put the stones in place.  Next there was some sanding and polishing to be done and then viola finished. 

             Seeing the Taj Mahal was like walking into a post card picture, because it was so incredible.   The Taj Mahal is still stunningly white and really big and hade a beautiful garden around it.   The Taj Mahal is the most beautiful wonder of the world that I’ve seen so far.  My favorite was the inlaid semi-precious stones.  They are so beautiful! 

      

BY KAYLEY SIENNA ROLPH