Anisha CharanHave you ever wondered what kind of secrets lay upon the marble floors of the Taj Mahal or within the majestic Walls of China? Discover the most intimate stories and popular myths behind these great wonders.
Taj Mahal, India
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The Taj Mahal is widely known to be the most beautiful building in the world. As a result of clever engineering, the four minarets was constructed to tilt slightly outwards from the platform to make the Taj Mahal appear perfectly straight from the ground. It also ensured that during an earthquake, the minarets fall away from the precious dome.
Its creation can be attributed to Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, who upon the loss of wife, Mumtaz, was so shaken up, his hair and beard turned white. It was he who ordered the Taj Mahal’s creation. According to popular myth, Shah Jahan had the hands of the Taj Mahal creators chopped off to prevent them from creating anything so beautiful ever again. Another legend speaks of Shah Jahan wanting to construct a black Taj on the basin of Yamuna. He wanted this building to be identical to the Taj Mahal, except that it would be in created in charcoal black marble instead of white. Unfortunately, he was taken out by his son, Aurangzeb before his plans could matriculate.
Great Wall of China
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The Great Wall of China is a mysterious enigma in itself. Although many say it can be viewed from space, in actuality, the Great Wall can only be seen with a particular type of camera from low Earth orbit.
It is rumoured that numerous peasants, prisoners and soldiers from the army were forced into constructing the Wall. Legend has it that a young man, Fan Qi Liang, from the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC) escaped from this brutal labour and hid in a private garden where he met and fell in love with the owner’s daughter, Meng Jiang Nu. However, soon after their happy wedding, Fan Qi Liang was taken away to continue constructing the wall. As winter approached, Fan Qi Liang never returned and his wife brought warm clothes to the site.
Upon reaching, she discovered her husband was dead and that his body was built into the Great Wall. She cried day and night until part of the Wall was broken down to expose bones of numerous dead men. Filled with immense grief, Meng Jiang Nu cut her fingers, allowing her blood to flow onto the dead men. It flowed into one; believing him to be her husband, she buried the man and drowned herself.
Eiffel Tower, France
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France’s most beloved landmark was almost destroyed in 1909! Originally built as the entrance of 1889 World’s Fair, the Eiffel Tower was only supposed to stand for 20 years. In fact, this work of art was even considered to be an eyesore for that period of time! Fortunately, the tower was saved because it played an important role in capturing the infamous spy Mata Hari during WW1. It was also used for telegraphy and as a radio antenna during WW2 from which the Germans sent coded signals to their forces. Today, the tower is used in newer communication technologies such as the radio and television.
Machu Picchu, Peru
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Like the Taj Mahal, the ancient city of Machu Picchu is a product of genius engineering. Peru experiences earthquakes frequently; in order to prevent the place from falling apart, L-shaped blocks anchored corners together and mortar was not used. This allowed the stones to move and resettle without collapsing during the event of an earthquake. Had this building method not been in place, many famous buildings at Machu Picchu would no longer exist. However, what is most unique about this city is that almost 60% of its construction was done underground. That means there’s an entire city below our feet that we didn’t know about! Although its hard to believe, the beautiful city of Machu Picchu was built, lived and deserted in less than 100 years! After this, it was lost for centuries.
Khazneh, Petra, Jordan
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Finally, the 2000-year old Khazneh is believed to have been carved from the top to the bottom! This came to light when a nearby tomb was discovered to be unfinished at the bottom, while completed at the top. Holes running up either side of Petra’s most treasured landmark are in fact misinformation for they were most likely created much later by vandals. The holes were meant to be footholes to deface sculptures.
