Taj Mahal, Monument of Love

Called a monument to love, the Taj Mahal has also been called "India's most famous and finest example of architecture. We could call it a monument to symmetry. From the formal gardens divided into four sections, to the tomb 900 feet from the entrance, the four minarets continue this symmetrical theme. The minarets next to the Taj Mahal are 41.1 meters or 137 feet high and are cylindrical columns with beveled angles. Located at each of the corners of the raised marble plinth the minarets repeat the right angles that are an obvious part of the Taj Mahal. The main structure is cubical. The windows have arches which comes to a point. The windows create arched recesses which are perfectly arranged on both stories. The central circle at the base arches upward to create the famous onion dome. The Taj Mahal is a fine example of geometry. Like all buildings the Taj Mahal is a combination of planes. The rectangular reflecting pool mirrors the pools in each of the four gardens and makes your eyes follow along parallel lines to the tomb's entrance. Theintersecting perpendicular lines continue to create right angles in each of the four sections which are subdivided into another four squares. The doorways are rectangular in design with semi-octagonal angles. The room that the tombs are placed is octagonal. As you look at the Taj Mahal, there are multiple lines of symmetry. The entire complex is laid out in quadrilaterals. The total effect combines to make one of rhythm and harmony

symmetry: having balanced portions, matching of shapes on the opposite sides of a dividing line | cylinder-solid with circles for bases | right angle- an angle exact to 90 degrees | cube-a solid with six square faces. | point- tells the position of lines or objects where they begin or end | planes-a flat surface that go on forever | parallel lines-lines that never intersect , are always the same distance apart share the same plane | intersecting lines-lines that cross one another