Large symmetry at the Taj Mahal

Here I am standing in front of the main building, through which you walk into the main garden complex of the Taj Mahal.

So much of the architecture here plays on concepts of Symettry and Optical Illusions. As you walk through an arch, you see the Taj Mahal in the far distance – as you pass through it becomes HUGE! Something you can only see with your eyes. There is large symmetry at the Taj Mahal – that was a play on words, but nobody has got it straight away. Symmetry <> Cemetary, as it is a mausoleum!

These arches play an important part of the optical illusion effect

My guide was so clever with the camera, here is a gem of a photo “Look through my eyes”. The Taj Mahal is reflected in my sunglasses as I stare towards her.

The mausoleum was completed in the year 1653. There are 16 gardens and 53 fountains that commemorate this year.

Here is another optical illusion: up close, you can see that the column is a flat surface where the arrows meet. But from afar, the column seems to bend inwards as if the column had 8 sides instead of four.

These arches play an important part of the optical illusion effect – they frame your vision towards a particular vector path.

Look at the two photos below. One is taken closer to the archway, one further away. You can kind of see the optical illusion effect here.

Izzah, my guide and I.