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Taj Mahal -- A Love Story

By Sharon Fabian The Taj Mahal in India is a magical place. It is also the setting of a sad love story. To enter, you walk through a gate. Inside the gate you get your first look at the Taj Mahal. It looks like a palace. There are gardens around the Taj Mahal and a reflecting pool in front. The gardens are laid out in a neat pattern. You can see the Taj Mahal reflected in the pool. The Taj Mahal is built of white marble. It sits up high on a platform. The only thing you can see behind it is the sky. It has a large onion-shaped dome. Four tall, thin towers called minarets surround the dome. The white marble sparkles and shines. It reflects the colors around it. In the morning, it looks pink like the sky. In the afternoon, it is shiny white. When the moon is out, it has a golden glow. Inside, the Taj Mahal looks like it was made in a jewelry store. There are designs everywhere. There are geometric designs and designs of plants and flowers. Some of the designs are carved into the walls. Some of them are made of precious gem stones. There are flowers made of jewels like agate, jasper, and jade. Just one leaf may be made of fifty precious stones! Why was this gorgeous palace built? This is where we come to the sad part of the story, because the Taj Mahal isn't really a palace at all. It is the burial place of a queen. It all started when Shah Jahan, the emperor's son, fell in love. He was fifteen years old, and he met a beautiful girl in the bazaar. They fell in love, and after waiting five years, they were married. Shah Jahan became emperor, and the beautiful girl became his queen. He called her Mumtaz Mahal, which means Chosen One of the Palace.

Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal were always together. She even went with him when he led his troops to war. They raised a large family together. While Muntaz Mahal was expecting their fourteenth child, they were traveling to another battle. The baby was born, but Mumtaz Mahal died. Shah Jahan was so sad that he couldn't even think about battles or ruling his country any more. He could only think about Mumtaz Mahal. He thought about the last thing she had asked him to do. She had asked him to build her a beautiful burial place, a beautiful place where Shah Jahan and their children could visit her grave. Shah Jahan focused all of his thoughts on building her the most beautiful burial place ever. It took his mind away from sad thoughts. He called in builders, stone carvers, and artisans from all over his kingdom. He told them to build the most magnificent building ever. He told them that it should be very beautiful, like the beautiful wife he missed so much. That is why they built the Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal -- A Love Story

Questions
1. The Taj Mahal is a beautiful______. A. building B. flower C. queen 2. There are ______ around the Taj Mahal. A. trees and mountains B. gardens and a reflecting pool C. battlefields 3. The Taj Mahal is made from ______. A. wood B. marble C. bricks

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4. The dome of the Taj Mahal is shaped like a/an ______. A. onion B. pear C. apple 5. In the morning, the Taj Mahal looks ______. A. pink B. gold C. white 6. Which word best describes the inside of the Taj Mahal? A. elegant B. plain C. rustic 7. Shah Jahan was ______. A. in love with Mumtaz Mahal B. both C. ruler of India 8. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal because ______. A. it was his job to build large buildings B. he wanted to honor his wife who had died C. he wanted to rule his kingdom from a grand palace

Explain why it was so important to Shah Jahan to make the Taj Mahal a beautiful place. Describe some of the details that he included in the building.

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Pretend that you are visiting India. You are writing in a journal about what you see each day. Write a journal entry for the day you visit the Taj Mahal.