Mehtab Bagh | Black Taj Mahal | Agra Heritage Walk | (Links to all episodes in description)

Описание: Links to all the episodes of our AGRA Heritage series are given below :)
AGRA Heritage Walk - Trailer -    • Agra Heritage Tour - 1 min Teaser :) Full ...  
Shree Ji Mishthan Bhandar - Breakfast at Agra -    • Breakfast at Shree Ji Mishthan Bhandar | A...  
Agra Fort | Guided Tour - HINDI | Red Fort | Akbar Fort -    • Agra Fort FULL Tour in HINDI | Red Fort | ...  
Baby Taj - tomb of Itimad ud Daulah -    • Tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula | BABY TAJ | Agra H...  
Mehtab Bagh (Black Taj Mahal) -    • Mehtab Bagh | Black Taj Mahal | Agra Herit...  
Bajrang Chaat Bhandar at Agra -    • Bajrang Chaat Bhandar - Street Food Cart |...  
TAJ MAHAL -    • Taj Mahal FULL Tour in Hindi | Agra Herita...  
Pietra dura on Taj Mahal -    • Pietra dura Marble-inlay at Taj Mahal | U....  
Tomb of Mariam Zamani (Jodhabai / Harkha Bai / Heer Kunwari) -    • Tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani - Jodha Bai | Agr...  
Akbar's Tomb - Sikandara -    • The tomb of AKBAR - Sikandara | Agra Herit...  
The Red Taj - Hessing's Tomb -    • The Red Taj - Hessing's Tomb | Hindi | Agr...  
Halwa Parantha -    • Halwa Parantha at Agra | Hindi | Agra Heri...  
Dargah Abul Ula and Qawwali by Rafi Bharti Qawwal -    • Dargah Hazrat Syedna Shah Ameer Abul Ula (...  

FULL PLAYLIST -    • Agra Heritage Tour - 1 min Teaser :) Full ...  

------------
Here's Part 4 of our new Heritage Tour series as we explore Agra :)
(text from wikipedia)

Mehtab Bagh (Hindi: मेहताब बाग़, Urdu: مہتاب باغ‬‎, translation: Moonlight Garden) is a charbagh complex in Agra, North India. It lies north of the Taj Mahal complex and the Agra Fort on the opposite side of the Yamuna River, in the flood plains. The garden complex, square in shape, measures about 300 by 300 metres (980 ft × 980 ft) and is perfectly aligned with the Taj Mahal on the opposite bank. During the rainy season, the ground becomes partially flooded.

The Mehtab Bagh garden was the last of eleven Mughal-built gardens along the Yamuna opposite the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort;[2] the first being Ram Bagh.[5] It is mentioned that this garden was built by Emperor Babur (d. 1530).[5] It is also noted that Emperor Shah Jahan had identified a site from the crescent-shaped, grass-covered floodplain across the Yamuna River as an ideal location for viewing the Taj Mahal. It was then created as "a moonlit pleasure garden called Mehtab Bagh." White plaster walkways, airy pavilions, pools and fountains were also created as part of the garden, with fruit trees and narcissus.[6] The garden was designed as an integral part of the Taj Mahal complex in the riverfront terrace pattern. Its width was identical to that of the rest of the Taj Mahal.[2] Legends attributed to the travelogue of the 17th century French traveler Jean Baptiste Tavernier mention Shah Jahan's wish to build a Black Taj Mahal for himself, as a twin to the Taj Mahal; however, this could not be achieved as he was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb. This myth had been further fueled in 1871 by a British archaeologist, A.C.L. Carlleyle, who, while discovering the remnants of an old pond at the site had mistaken it for the foundation of the fabled structure.[2] Thus, Carlleyle became the first researcher to notice structural remains at the site, albeit blackened by moss and lichen.[4] Mehtab Bagh was later owned by Raja Man Singh Kacchawa of Amber, who also owned the land around the Taj Mahal[7]

Frequent floods and villagers extracting building materials nearly ruined the garden. Remaining structures within the garden were in a ruinous state. By the 1990s, the garden's existence was almost forgotten and it had degraded to little more than an enormous mound of sand, covered with wild vegetation and alluvial silt.

More Info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehtab_...

The Black Taj Mahal ("Black Taj", "Kaala Taj", also "the 2nd Taj") is a legendary black marble mausoleum that is said to have been planned to be built across the Yamuna River opposite the Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Mughal emperor Shah Jahan is said to have desired a mausoleum for himself similar to that of the one he had built in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.[1][unreliable source?]

mentioned the idea of Black Taj in his fanciful writings. The writings of Tavernier mention that Shah Jahan began to build his own tomb on the other side of the river but could not complete it as he was deposed by his own son Aurangzeb. However, many modern archaeologists believe this story to be myth.[2]

Ever since the construction of Taj Mahal, the building has been the source of an admiration transcending culture and geography, and so personal and emotional responses have consistently eclipsed scholastic appraisals of the monument.

— Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, one of the first European visitors to the Taj Mahal