WEEK 9: NATURAL WONDERS

• Browse the Net and upload a descriptive text of a well-known place, and underline all the expressions used for describing the place. Add other sentences by yourself to improve the text selected.

Named the Taj Mahal in honor of Mumtaz Mahal, the mausoleum was constructed of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones (including jade, crystal, lapis lazuli, amethyst and turquoise) forming intricate designs in a technique known as pietra dura.

Its central dome reaches a height of 240 feet (73 meters) and is surrounded by four smaller domes; four slender towers, or minarets, stood at the corners. In accordance with the traditions of Islam, verses from the Quran were inscribed in calligraphy on the arched entrances to the mausoleum, in addition to numerous other sections of the complex.

Inside the mausoleum, an octagonal marble chamber adorned with carvings and semi-precious stones housed the cenotaph, or false tomb, of Mumtaz Mahal. The real sarcophagus containing her actual remains lay below, at garden level.

The rest of the Taj Mahal complex included a main gateway of red sandstone and a square garden divided into quarters by long pools of water, as well as a red sandstone mosque and an identical building called a jawab (or “mirror”) directly across from the mosque. Traditional Mughal building practice would allow no future alterations to be made to the complex.

As the story goes, Shah Jahan intended to build a second grand mausoleum across the Yamuna River from the Taj Mahal, where his own remains would be buried when he died; the two structures were to have been connected by a bridge.

Extracted from: https://www.history.com/topics/taj-mahal#

• Tell us what you've done this week to improve your English.

This week I have continued reading the book "Saturday", and did some exercises I found on the Internet. I also watched Britain´s Got Talent and enjoyed Marc Spelmann´s magic who won the first Golden Buzzer of this year. 

Nassira Dahmani