El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-07-23


| sunset the gardens about the Tai are
| alive with birds. There is sweet sing
| ing in the trees, the crows cav and the
| splendid peacocks come out and walk
| across the lawns and in and out through
| the pines and tropical foliage,
! Most Beautiful Building In the World.
| The Tai Mahal is the most beautiful
building of the world, and it has a beau
! tiful setting. 1t is sourrounded by a
frame of red sandstone. Around the
| garden of perhaps ten acres in which
| the structure is situated is a wall of
| low buildings of dard red tremendously
| joined to the great gate of the same
| material which forms the entrance. The
! Tai is a mosque as well as a tomb, and
! Mohammedans from all parts of India
come here TO worship. The sandstone
! buildings about the gardens are rest
| houses, in which pilgrims may stay
/ over night The gate at the entrance
| is a wonder. It was built IS years after
| our Puritan forefatherS landed on Ply
! mouth Rock, but it is in perfect cOndi-
| ton today. 1t is beautifully carved
and inIaid with inscriptions from the
! Koran. Entering it one gets his first
/ view of the Tai. He sees it looking
over a long row of fountains bordered
/ with cypress trees and rising, as it were,
out of the green. In the distance the
building looks small. It Is, I judge.
| 1000 feet away, a marble jewel framed
against the clearest sky that heaven
ever gave to man. The dark green OIL
the trees shuts out the view on each
side, and you look down over the flash
ing waters at the great ivory mOnu
ment. As you do so the crows cav, the
cuckatoos fly from tree to tree, the
sun turns falling water to diamonds.
and the rich colors of the Hindoo girls
dresses add to rather than mar the beau
ty of the scene.
As you go nearer the Tai its size
rapidly increases, and when at last you
mount the. steps and stand upon It's
platform you realize its immensely. The
marble foundation upon which it is
built covers three acres and at each
corner there is a tower of marble, or
minaret, as high as a seven story house.
The tomb itself covers almost an acre
IT Is a building which rises to one-third
the height of the Washington monumen.
and ends in a central dome, which floats
IN the sky. The whole is of the purest
white marble, so symmetrica1y joined
that it seems to be carved out Of one
block. The dome looks like a sNvery
bubble which might have been blown
from the mouth of a god IT is so feet
in diameter, and you could put a big
house inside it and it would not touch
the sides. Still, from the platform it
is not out of proportion, and 1t rests
lightly upon the great structure below
1t fits down like the tropical sun when
1t sets upon the waters in the midst OF
the ocean. AS the sun touches the sea
the latter appears to ris and pull it
down. as il were. When il Is two
thirds submerged it is of just the shape
of the dome of the Tai, perfect in every !
curve and wonderfully beautiful.
Some Views of the Tai.
I despair of making you see the Tai |
Mahal. Every point of view gives /
different impression and each has new |
beauties. Take a walk through the |
garden. It is filled with plants of many /
kinds gathered from all parts of the |
world. Now you are in a forest Of fir |
trees. You might be half way up the |
Andes The green is so thick that il |
shuts out all else. Now take a step /
forward The great monument is look
ing at you through the foliage You !,
have a glimpse of the dome, but tall
palm has thrust its bushy head against /
it and IFS fanlike branches half hide.
but add to its beauty a step further
and you are in a long avenue where
the trees overhang. You have only
glimpse of the sky at the end A step
TO the right and you are in rose gar
den, out of which you can look at the
towers of the minarets with the white
bubble floating between. Upon the
d |
or priest, his red shawl shining like a
spot of blood upon the white marble.
1t is not hard to carry your imagination
back for three or four centuries TO
hear the words: come to prayer, come
to prayer, There is but one God, and
Come TO prayer, Come to prayer"
Inlaid With Jewels. /
Now climb again TO the platform and
take a close look at the building Did
YOU ever see such workmanship? 1t is
mass of decoration. The walls are cover
ed with beautiful carvings and are in
laid with stones of many colors. Every
angle has rs precious stones and these
are combined in wreaths, scrolls and
frets of exquisite design. The Tai flow
or, as If is called, is cut in bas-relief
here and there out of the marble Some
Of the decorations have fifty different
,olored stones in a single setting, and
before the Tai was robbed-of its beau
ties some flowers contained, hundred
1r more The jewels with which the
building was inlaid cost more than TO-
100 600 rupees, and rajahs and kings
sent gems and pearls and precious
stones as we'll as silver and gold to aid
n its decoration. Some of the beauu-
ul inlaid work which still stands are
he Arabic inscriptions which run !
lround the door and here and there
,ver the walls. They are of characters
n black marble inlaid upon the white.
Most of them are from the Koran. or
Bible: most, but not all |
find one which reads as follows:
Saith Jesus on whom be peace: This
world is a bridge. Pass thou over it, but &