Taj Mahal West City Gate

The West Gate of the Taj Mahal rises as a massive sandstone structure with a central archway that dwarfs anyone passing underneath. It served as the primary entrance for travelers arriving from Agra city during the seventeenth century. When the monument was first finished, this gate acted as the transition point where the chaos of the marketplace vanished and the quiet of the royal gardens began. Merchants and visitors left their heavy loads here, stepping through into the symmetrical world Shah Jahan built for his queen.