BIBI-KA-MAQBARA

It took more than 10 years to complete the construction of this mausoleum housing the tomb of Rabia Ul-Darrani, the first wife of Aurangzeb. Many historians attribute the construction of the building to Prince Azam Shah, but it seems that it was Aurangzeb who commissioned it. The work began in 1651 when the prince was not yet born... Resembling a miniature version of the Taj Mahal, the monument is the finest example of Mughal architecture in the Deccan Valley. The mausoleum consists of a domed alcove placed on a platform with four towers at each corner. The architectural ensemble is placed in the center of a vast Mughal-inspired garden with basins and canals where the numbers 8 and 9 recur regularly. The towers as well as the basins are octagonal, the paved paths are decorated with 9-pointed stars. The symmetry of the whole was broken by the construction of a mosque added in the 18th century by the nizam of Hyderabad.

Only the base of the mausoleum is made of marble and the rest is made of white plaster. The use of plaster, much cheaper than marble, marks the decline of the empire of Aurangzeb and announces the end of the Mughal empire.

The openings of the mausoleum are decorated with jali, a kind of plaster lace that casts beautiful shadows on the floor. The tomb, placed in an octagonal pit, is covered with a green sheet, color of Islam. The visitors throw there coins and banknotes by formulating a wish.