“The Taj truly is… a poem... It is not only a pure architectural type, but also a creation, which satisfies the imagination, because its characteristic is Beauty. Did you ever build a Castle in the Air? Here is one, brought down to earth, and fixed for the wonder of ages; yet so light it seems, so airy, and when seen from a distance, so like a fabric of mist and sunbeams, with its great dome soaring up, a silvery bubble, about to burst in the sun, that, even after you have touched it, and climbed to its summit, you almost doubt its reality.” Bayard Taylor, journalist and novelist, after his visit to the Taj Mahal in 1850.“In December 1631, the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commenced the construction of one of the greatest monuments of all time, the Taj Mahal. It is a mausoleum built in the memory of his beloved and favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, fulfilling one of the promises that he made to her as she lay on her deathbed. The first was never to father another child, and the second was to erect a monument to match her beauty.” So begins one of the narratives on the truly one-of-a-kind interactive website, Explore The Taj-Mahal, developed by the Armchair Travel Company .
The site is a feast for the senses: 360-degree panoramas capture the beauty and architecture of this world wonder; short narratives give the viewer perspective and context; movies and text add depth for those hungry for deeper knowledge -- learn about preservation efforts, Islamic decorative schemes, even Princess Diana’s visit in 1992. The amount of information available on the site is extensive, yet not overwhelming, because it is so well organized and offered in a thoughtful manner. The deeper one digs, the more information one finds, offered in a choice of delivery.
Upon entering the site, viewers are greeted with a colored map of the structure and grounds. Red dots represent interactive panoramas and rolling over one brings up the title of the pano. Clicking on the dot opens the pano within the same window and as one scrolls left or right, a blue circle with an arrow around the red dot simultaneously displays the viewer’s perspective within the map. Hotspots within the panos allow the viewer to jump to another pano.
Panoramas are available in QuickTime or Java. Each panorama has an option to listen to a narrative of the scene or read the short transcript. Each panorama is also accompanied by several movies that delve deeper into some aspect of the architecture or history. For instance, the Cenotaph pano has six accompanying movies, one of which describes the doubled skin architecture of the main dome, complete with drawings and close up photographs. Another movie, for the same pano, is about the calligraphy and inscriptions in the main cenotaph, while yet another discusses Lord Curzon’s Brass Lamp, which hangs above the tombs in the mausoleum.
“The image of the Taj Mahal is perfectly reflected in the central water tank, which is also known as the 'celestial pool of abundance'. The Taj Mahal is split into three sections and the forecourt is the second in importance. The other two sections are; the main mausoleum area, or Taj proper; and the bustling Taj Ganj, which actually lies outside of the smaller gate. The imposing sandstone gateway is the main entrance into the mausoleum and the Qur'anic calligraphic inscriptions around the doorframe are inviting the visitor into the gardens of Paradise. Two royal tombs are situated here including that of Satti-a-Nisa-Khurram, a favorite lady-in-waiting of Mumtaz Mahal, in the southwest corner,” one of the movies informs me.
The site is a must-visit for tourists and anyone interested in this historic structure; students, in particular, will enjoy the site and the ability to learn interactively. In fact, the website has won numerous awards and accolades from teachers’ groups and London newspapers and architecture magazines. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching calls it “inspirational”, and The Daily Mail, London calls it “"THE most sophisticated virtual tour... You can almost hear your footsteps reverberate around the rooms." William Beckett, Armchair Travel's director of business and marketing claims that to see and hear everything on the Web site would take over two hours
The site is free, as are all Armchair Travel sites, and includes downloadable MS Word files for use by schools and students.
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