The Taj Mahal is an amazing achievement accomplished by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in honor of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Along with attracting tourists from all over the world, the Taj Mahal also demonstrates all the SPECS categories. Social and political fall into the same category in that it was Shah Jahan's political power that gave him the authority to start this huge project. He of course could not do it by himself, and so he hired 20,000 artisans from all over the world to help him build it, giving jobs to that many people. The number of people with new jobs, plus the amount of money it cost to pay for the materials, (32,000,000 Rupees, which is about $1,000,000) certainly affected the economic status of the Mughal Empire. Culture is also evident in the Taj Mahal, because it incorporates both Muslim and Hindu culture. For example, the finial (the point located at the top of the dome) is topped with a crescent moon on it's side, with the points facing towards heaven. The idea of facing heaven is a Muslim idea, however, the finial also displays a Hindu idea: the sideways moon crossed with another point in the center, creating a three-point trident type figure. This represents the Hindu symbol of Shiva. Lastly, the science and technology used in building the Taj Mahal was incredibly advanced. The workers invented an elaborate pulley system to lift the marble blocks, and used animals to their advantage as well (over 1000 elephants were used to transport materials) The Taj Mahal is completely symmetrical, and it is almost hard to imagine the precision required to achieve such an accomplishment.
As Emily and Kevin said, the Taj Mahal attracts tourists from all over the world, who come to India just to see the Taj Mahal. It is one of the most famous pieces of architecture, and is a wonder of the world. I agree that the number of tourists coming to see it each year would probably make up for all the funds spent on building it. It has become a huge symbol and icon for India.
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