Bibi-ka-Maqbara

Bibi-ka-Maqbara Review

The 17th-century tomb Bibi-ka-Maqbara is also known as the mini-Taj Mahal; you can usually see it from the plane when you're flying into Aurangabad. A pale but noble imitation of the original Taj Mahal, it is dedicated to the wife of the last of the six great Mogul emperors, Aurangzeb (founder of Aurangabad and son of the Taj Mahal's creator, Shah Jahan). It was supposed to be a shining, white-marble edifice but money ran out, so only the bottom 2 feet of the monument were built with marble; the rest is stone with a facade of plaster. Somewhat awkwardly proportioned, the structure can be said to illustrate the decline of Mogul architecture.