Beautiful Buildings AN AMAZING FACT: The Taj Mahal (meaning “crown of buildings”) is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built in 1653 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is often recognized as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Myths and legends surround the construction of the Taj. As one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, there is great interest in this amazing structure. We know it took about 22 years and 22,000 people to construct the building. Some estimate that in today’s dollar, it cost about $100 million to construct. Apparently 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials during construction. The architecture skillfully combines Persian, Islamic, and Indian styles. The materials used to adorn the Taj Mahal include 28 different varieties of semi-precious and precious stones with exquisite inlay work. Depending on which time of day you view the tomb, you will see different colors—pink in the morning, white in the day, and golden in the moonlight. The pillars surrounding the Taj are slightly tilted outwards so that in the event of an earthquake they will fall away from the tomb itself. The most beautiful temple in the world built in ancient times was surely Solomon’s temple. His preparations are described in 1 Kings chapters 4 and 5. His labor force was 30,000 strong. His father, David, had already assembled a large store of materials. But we find Solomon working with Hiram, king of Tyre, to obtain a large harvest of timber (cedar and cypress logs). Huge stones were quarried, and Solomon paid them well. Solomon probably would have been unhappy to know that this temple was named after himself. When writing to Hiram, he states, “And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God” (1 Kings 5:5). Even the king of Tyre responds, “Blessed be the Lord this day,” giving thanks and glory to God (v. 7). The temple, which represents the life and work of Jesus, was to always point heavenward. Christ now stands in the heavenly sanctuary, alive and serving us. He is not dead in a tomb in Palestine. KEY BIBLE TEXTS And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. - Exodus 25:8 (Read more at amazingfacts.org)
Posted on: Tue, 04 Jun 2013 08:01:32 +0000
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