The Taj Mahal at sunset, as seen from the banks of the Yamuna River
PHOTOGRAPH: ADRIAN POPE/GETTY
Taj Mahal
Commissioned in 1632 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal – the world’s best-known monument to romantic love – took more than 20 years, 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants to build. (Although some of the facts of the story are less than romantic. Mumtaz was one of three wives of the emperor – though she was his first and favourite – and she died giving birth to their 14th child, at the age of 39.)