Rana Safvi رعنا राना Profile picture
May 11, 2022 15 tweets 6 min read Read on X
Let's walk through the Taj Mahal today.
I will take you on a pictorial tour.
A huge Darwaza surrounded by a wall guards the teardrop inside
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As you come closer it's awesome majesty hits you
#TajMahal
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We enter the huge gateway and we see it.
It seems nearer than it is
The wonder of the world
#TajMahal
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Everyone is as awestruck as we are!
Nothing can hide it's beauty
#TajMahal
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From across the chahar Bagh gardens we can see the top of the masjid.
A mosque is often in mausoleums as prayers and recitation of the Holy Quran are said to help in redemption of the soul of the deceased
#TajMahal
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We come closer!
The minarets were made to lean outside in case God forbid they fall they don't damage the #TajMahal
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Perfection on the walls
Fleur de Lil
#TajMahal
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The Raza e Munawwara as the Taj was originally chalked was envisaged as a Paradisical tomb set in a charbagh garden.
Like human imagination of paradise the Taj is made like garden of spring flowers.
Flowers adorn it in many shapes & ways
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Oriental Lily 'Taj Majal' is a tall, late-blooming, L. nobilissum hybrid with thickly-textured, outfacing flowers of pure white.
California
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Indians were already familiar with inlay work the insertion of stone on stone in prepared grooves called parchinkari (Per)
The Taj Mahal didn’t just have parchinkari, but elaborate and intricate inlay work where precious stones were inlaid into marble to create beautiful flowers.
The tomb is set on a sandstone platform and then a marble one.
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The mausoleum has a total height of 73m. It is placed on a base also in marble of 95,16m. Each minaret is 43m high. The dome, it is 17.70m in diameter for a height of the arc of 24.4m. It is a double dome for symmetry. The inner dome is much smaller & there's a gap bet them
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The domes appeared in Islamic architecture in 691. It was on this date that was estimated the construction of the Dome of the Rock, one of the oldest buildings of Jerusalem.
The Taj dome rests on a of 7m high often called neck of the dome
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Will take you inside tomorrow.
One of my favourite captures of the Taj Mahal

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More from @iamrana

Jun 8, 2023
Sher dor Madrasa, Samarqand~
Students going to universities or colleges today might wonder at the presence of two tigers chasing deers on the entrance of an educational institution.
But when Yalangtush Bakhodur, the military governor of the city, built this madrasa in Samarqand's… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
If Ulugh Beg's madrasa had emphasised star's & geometric designs showcasing his interest in astronomy, Yalangtush Bakhodur re-emphasised seeking knowledge.

Not just seeking knowledge but seeking it as aggressively as a tiger hunts its prey.
This gives the madrasa its name Sher… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
This madrasa was built after demolishing Ulugh Beg's khanqah on that spot.
The design is very similar to Ulugh Beg's madrasa with double storeyed interior for classes and hostel rooms for the students.
I can only dream & imagine what it must be like to study in such a beautiful… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… ImageImageImage
Read 4 tweets
Jun 6, 2023
Shah Jahan gave orders for building a fort in Delhi in 1639AD and entered the “Qila e Mubarak”, as it was named on June 15, 1648. While the fort was being erected, he also had the city “Shahjahanabad” built around it. He encouraged his wives, sons, daughters and nobles to build… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
Once Shah Jahan began living in the Qila and the settlers in Shahjahanabad grew in number, he felt the need for a congregational mosque bigger than existing ones.
The location chosen thus was a hillock called Pahari Bhojala, at a distance of 1,000 yards (0.91km) from the Qila.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
On October 6, 1650, the foundation stone was laid for a Jama Masjid by the emperor himself and it was built under the supervision of Sa’dullah Khan, the prime minister, and Fazil Khan, the khansaman or the head of the imperial household establishments.
It was built in six years… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
Jun 5, 2023
Who hasn't heard of Hyderabad's Char Minar? It was built in the 16th century and defines the city.
But recently I saw another Char Minar ( pronounced Chor Minar in the local language) in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
This is not to be confused with Delhi's Chor Minar where chor meant… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
Is there a connection?
Quite possible because the builder of this char minar was a rich merchant living & trading in Bukhara, who it is possible saw it in India on one of his business trips and got inspired.
“Chor-Minor“ (“Four minarets“) was built in
1807 by a rich Turkmen… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… ImageImage
There is a small yard surrounded by hujras ( Cells) around the madrasa and a small mosque in form of a columnaded ai an.
madrasah includes a small yard surrounding the main building.
One of the towers contains a staircase leading to the second floor of the domed hall. It housed… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
Apr 23, 2023
#worldbookday

Clay tablets used in Mesopotamia in 3BC. The calamus, triangle shaped instrument was used to make characters in moist clay.
Pic -Clay tablets with cuneiform script
1/ ImageImage
At Nineveh, 22,000 tablets found, dating from the 7c BC- the archive &library of the kings of Assyria
In Ancient Egypt, papyrus was used for writing & first evidence from about 2400 BC
A calamus, the stem of a reed sharpened to a point, or bird feathers were used for writing
2/ ImageImageImage
Papermaking started in China about AD 105, using mulberry and other bast fibres along with fishnets, old rags, and hemp waste
paper used for wrapping & padding was used in China since 2BC paper used as a writing medium only became widespread by the 3C
3/ Image
Read 12 tweets
May 26, 2022
Takht e Marmar ( the marble throne) room was built on orders of Fath Ali Shah Qajar (1797-1834) Golestan palace, Teheran, Iran
It's breath taking -adorned with painting, calligraphy, stucco, carving, enamel,mirror & tile work, glass windows
1/ Image
Actual Takht itself in the middle of the room comprises of 65 yellow Yazd sculpted & carved marble pieces, designed by Mirza Baba Nagash Bashi ( head painter of Qajar Art).
Mohammed Ebrahim the head stone Mason along with several experts supervised it's construction.
2/ Image
Coronation of Qajar kings were held here on this terrace.
The last coronation held here was of the self proclaimed king Reza Khan Pehalvi in 1925.
3/ Image
Read 4 tweets
May 25, 2022
#2 in our series on temples of Delhi built in Mughal Era
This is the Shivalaya of Dhummi Lal Khanna, built in the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar II in Katra Neel in Old Delhi / Shahjahanabad
Text and idea @SamDalrymple123
#MughalMandirs have been studied significantly less than any other type of mandir in the subcontinent - suprising given that the dynasty's other monuments have been studied more than any other aspect of Indian Art history, giving impression that Mughal Mandirs just didn't exist
2
around 100 Mughal era mandirs survive today in Old Delhi.Reason for their neglect is that they're often hard to find,hidden behind high walls. None of the traditional mandirs there are surmounted by a high shikhara, instead possessing the lotus domes found elsewhere in Mughal art
Read 11 tweets

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