The Taj Mahal has a love story behind it, as many of the best stories in history do…

The Mughal emperor (#5) Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal, the favorite of his three wives, died in 1631 during childbirth of their 14th child. Shah Jahan was so devastated by her death that  he built the Taj Mahal as her tomb, to honor her. After he died, he was then buried right next to her.

I’m not going to go into any of the facts about the Taj Mahal, because the most memorable part for me was that it was built for love. And really, what a powerful emotion…

The pictures cannot even really do this “Wonder of the World” justice. It is a completely overwhelming feeling to walk through the front red gate and to see the Taj Mahal across the gardens. I could only feel a shiver down my spine and rapid movements of my eyes trying to absorb what just hit them…