Taj Mahal to reopen at night
Last updated at 13:32 13 August 2004
India's most famous - and most romantic - monument is soon to reopen for night visits.
Tourists keen to see the legendary Taj Mahal by moonlight will soon be able to do so, following a decision to reverse a 20-year ban on night visits.
The United News of India agency quoted a tourism official as saying: 'Our proposal is to keep the Taj Mahal open for five nights a month, on the full moon day and two days preceding and succeeding the full moon.'
The Taj Mahal, situated in the northern city of Agra, was built in the 17th century by the emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb and memorial for his favourite wife.
The ban was was originally introduced to protect the Taj Mahal. To be open on moonless nights, the monument would have to be floodlit - and doing so would attract insects which could lay eggs on its walls, damaging the famous white marble.
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