It famously took 22 years to build, needed the brawn of 1,000 elephants and the skill of 20,000 North Indian labourers.
Now the Taj Mahal, arguably India's most famous tourist attraction, has been painstaking recreated using more than 75,000 matchsticks by an artist.
It took 26-year-old Indian artist Shaikh Salimbhai, from Ahmedabad, one year and 19 days to build this replica of the mausoleum, in Agra.
Meanwhile, the world-famous landmark has also been recreated with rice, chapatis, Bombay potatoes and mango chutney, in what is being described as the biggest edible Taj Mahal ever made.
Described as the poppadom palace, this 3ft by 10ft by 5ft version of the Taj Mahal was created to mark the launch of the Food Network's series, Reza, Spice Prince of India.
It was made out of 1.2 million grains of rice, 18 bags of mini poppadoms, 10 jars of mango chutney, 30 green chillis and 40 chipatas.
This gastronomic version took food artist Prudence Staite five days, seven hours and 30 minutes to construct.
Reza Mahammad, TV chef and host of the show, said: 'Whilst filming the show in Rajasthan, we visited the most extraordinary royal palaces, all which took years to complete, so it was incredible to watch this beautiful, edible Taj Mahal being constructed with such detail, and even better to taste it.'
The show follows Reza Mahammad, as he embarks on an unforgettable journey around India’s residences to discover the fascinating traditions of Rajasthan food and royal feasting, with Reza offering his own contemporary take on traditional Indian dishes.
