Taj Mahal to moonlight as nocturnal rendezvous for star-crossed lovers

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The Independent
By Justin Huggler in Delhi
27 November 2004


Full moon nights, when the walls of marble shimmer in the light, are thought to be the most romantic time to see the Taj Mahal, except that - barring a few one-off occasions - such visits have been banned for 20 years.

The last time India's great monument to love was regularly open by night was in 1984, but the authorities decided to ban visits after nightfall for fear that extremists might use the cover of dark to attack it. This weekend, however, all of that will change.

The white marble of the Taj, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jehan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, is so perfectly cut and polished that it reflects light at its different intensities throughout the day. It changes from rose at dawn to almost translucent white at the height of a sunny day. But the most fabulous time of all is when it reflects the moonlight. And, starting from this weekend, the Taj will be open at night for five days every month - on the date of the full moon itself and on the days immediately before and after.

Night visits were banned because of fears that Sikh extremists would attack at a time when their insurgency was at its height. Although that violent outburst ended many years ago, there have been fears of threats to the Taj from other sources.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=587239

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1. That's fitting, because my Art Profesor told us that Shah Jehan ....

went too sleep every night on a balcony with a mirror set up so he could look at it as he fell alseep. He had been imprisoned for bankrupting the govt with that project, and another identical one he had planned across the way for his own tomb. I think his was going to be black though.