Holiday In Modern Amsterdam, The City Of Mystery And Romance

The city of Amsterdam has a lot more to offer than sex, drugs, and even culture. Shopping is amazing there, both on the shopping streets and in the numerous markets. Being one of the foremost centers of culture in Europe, there are literally hundreds of venues that offer world class entertainment throughout the city. Museums abound. Plenty of low-cost entertainment can be found, and there are lots of festivals and cultural events that may interest you. Add street performers and live bands in the many bars and clubs to complete the scene.
Flights to Amsterdam are getting more reasonable than ever before. Accommodations vary, from camping, hostels, inexpensive hotels, luxury hotels, to holiday apartments that are available for short let. If you are traveling with a group of friends, or your family, short let apartments are a great idea. You can find lovely, roomy apartments for one hundred euros a day in the Jordaan area to beautifully furnished two-story apartments in the Canal district where there is delightful shopping.
Do you want even more luxury? How about a gorgeous, fully furnished holiday apartment with several flat screen televisions, a couple of balconies, and modern kitchen and baths? Place it near the best museums, the Anne Frank house, some of the best restaurants, Dam Square, and the Central Station all for 235 euros!
Okay, so you need to take care of flights and accommodations first off. It will be easy, if you spend some time online checking out the various holiday deals, flights, and hotels-apartments. Before you choose a hotel or holiday short let apartment, it would be wise to figure out what you can afford and what your main interests are. In other words, if you are going there strictly for the legal sex, drugs, and thrills, you will want to locate in or near that district. While it is crowded and noisy at night, it is calm and quiet in the morning.
Driving is discouraged in the centre of the city. You have the option of bus and tram lines, free ferries that transport both pedestrians and cyclists, fare charging ferries, water taxis, rental boats, and a water bus, as well as canal cruises. Two of the best ways to see much of what Amsterdam has to offer is by bicycle (inexpensive to rent) or by taking a canal trip. These are fast ways to orient yourself to this busy and active city.

Taj Mahal, the one and only one of its kind across the world

The Taj Mahal, the one and only one of its kind across the world. The monumental labour of love of a great ruler for his beloved queen. The ultimate realisation of Emperor Shahjahan's dream. One of the wonders of the world. From 1631 A.D., it took 22 years in the making. An estimated 20,000 people worked to complete the enchanting mausoleum, on the banks of the Yamuna. For a breathtaking beautiful view of the Taj Mahal, see it by moonlight.
The construction of this marble masterpiece is credited to the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who erected this mausoleum in memory of his beloved wife, Arjumand Bano Begum, popularly known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in AH 1040 (AD 1630). Her last wish to her husband was "to build a tomb in her memory such as the world had never seen before".
Thus emperor Shah Jahan set about building this fairytale like marvel. The construction of Taj Mahal was started in AD 1632 and completed at the end of 1648 AD. For seventeen years, twenty thousand workmen are said to be employed on it daily, for their accommodation a small town, named after the deceased empress-'Mumtazabad, now known as Taj Ganj, was built adjacent to it.
Amanat Khan Shirazi was the calligrapher of Taj Mahal, his name occurs at the end of an inscription on one of the gates of the Taj. Poet Ghyasuddin had designed the verses on the tombstone, while Ismail Khan Afridi of Turkey was the dome maker. Muhammad Hanif was the superintendent of Masons.
The designer of Taj Mahal was Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The material was brought in from all over India and central Asia and it took a fleet of 1000 elephants to transport it to the site. The central dome is 187 feet high at the centre. Red sandstone was brought from Fatehpur Sikri, Jasper from Punjab, Jade and Crystal from China, Turquoise from Tibet, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire from Sri Lanka, Coal and Cornelian from Arabia and diamonds from Panna. In all 28 kind of rare, semi precious and precious stones were used for inlay work in the Taj Mahal. The chief building material, the white marble was brought from the quarries of Makrana, in distt. Nagaur, Rajasthan