GeoOracle #6: Taj Mahal
19 June 2026 · Landmark · Difficulty 2 of 5
How it opened
I stand as a monument to eternal love, my white marble reflecting centuries of devotion on the banks of a sacred river.
The five clues
- 01A emperor's grief carved in stone, where ivory petals never fall from gardens of remembrance.
- 02I rest upon the right bank of the Yamuna, in a city known for palaces and history, in northern India's heartland.
- 03I was commissioned in 1631 by a Mughal emperor to honor his departed queen, becoming a sanctuary for two souls.
- 04Within my 42-acre complex lies a mosque, a guest house, and formal gardens enclosed by crenellated walls.
- 05Shah Jahan built me in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, to house the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal and eventually his own.
The answer
Taj Mahal
About this place
This ivory-white marble mausoleum was born from an emperor's profound sorrow when Shah Jahan lost his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1631. Set majestically on the right bank of the Yamuna River in Agra, it anchors a sprawling 17-hectare complex that includes a mosque, guest house, and exquisite formal gardens. Today, it stands as one of history's most poignant testaments to love, housing the tombs of both the empress and the emperor who built this timeless monument.
Geography
The Taj Mahal stands in Agra, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, positioned along the right bank of the Yamuna river. Built from ivory-white marble, the monument occupies a riverside setting that has shaped both its layout and its enduring visual impact. Its location beside the water places it within one of northern India's historic urban centres, where the river continues to define the edge of the surrounding grounds.
History
The mausoleum owes its existence to Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor, who ordered its construction in 1631. He intended it as a resting place for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, whom he held in deep affection. In time, the structure came to hold his own tomb as well, joining husband and wife within the same monument he had commissioned in her memory.
Notable features
Beyond the marble mausoleum itself, the site forms a broader complex spread across roughly seventeen hectares. Within this area stand a mosque and a guest house, arranged alongside formal gardens. Crenellated walls enclose the grounds on three sides, framing the tomb as the central focus of the whole layout and giving the complex a unified, carefully planned character worth noting.
Fact sheet
- Country
- India
- Continent
- Asia
- Coordinates
- 27.175, 78.042
- Founded
- 1631
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