Pisa Tower vs Taj Mahal

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The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) or simply the Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa [?torre di ?pi?za]) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of this Italian city of Pisa, known globally for its almost four-degree lean, the result of an unstable foundation. The tower is situated behind the Pisa Cathedral and is the third-oldest structure in the city's Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo), following the palace and the Pisa Baptistry. The height of this tower is 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres (185.93 feet) on the high side.

The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 feet 0.06 in). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons (16,000 short tons). The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. The tower began to lean during construction in the 12th century, due to soft ground which could not properly support the structure's weight, and it worsened through the completion of building in the 14th century. By 1990, the tilt had reached 5.5 degrees. The structure was stabilized by remedial work between 1993 and 2001, which decreased the tilt to 3.97 degrees.

Source: Wikipedia

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The Taj Mahal (; lit. 'Crown of the Palace', [ta?d? ?m???(?)l]) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the southern bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned from 1628 to 1658) to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The grave is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall. Building of the mausoleum was basically completed in 1643, but work continued on other stages of the job for the following 10 years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be approximately 32 million rupees, which in 2020 will be approximately 70 billion rupees (about U.S. $916 million). The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the court architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being'the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage'. It is viewed by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India's rich history. The Taj Mahal attracts 7--8 million visitors annually and in 2007, it had been announced a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World (2000--2007) initiative.

Source: Wikipedia