It cannot be denied that the Taj Mahal (tahzh mah-hahl´) owes much of its beauty to its setting. Not merely has it the contrast of the brilliant sky above, but also the deep green of the gardens at its feet, and more than this the four tall, graceful minarets standing like sentinels at the corners of the marble terrace on which the tomb is placed. The interior is scarcely less impressive than this outside view. Its subdued light serves only to show more clearly the beauty of the garlands of red and blue and green inlaid along its walls as never-withering memorials of the queen who sleeps beneath the lofty dome. It is perhaps beside her tomb that the traveler sees a vision of the proud and mighty Jahan, cruel in many ways, but steadfast in his love, building this glorious resting place for his fair consort, whom he called by the familiar name of Taj. One may see even farther still and picture to himself this once proud ruler, bereft of all his power and even of his throne, looking out from his chamber window toward this same Taj Mahal. Perhaps its wondrous dome gleamed in the moonlight on that last night before he came to rest beneath its shades as it gleams today to the enraptured gaze of thousands who take the pilgrimage to Agra to see this wonder of the Eastern world. THE PALACE OF THE MOORISH KINGS It is not such a step as it may seem from the Taj Mahal to the Alhambra (al-ham'-bra). Both are oriental. Both are the products of Mohammedan art, and mark in a way its Eastern and its Western expressions. As early as the eighth century of our era the Moors of northern Africa crossed to Spain and made the Iberian peninsula a Moorish califate or kingdom. Its capital and last stronghold was Granada. And here on a lofty hill, overlooking the city, King or Calif Al Hamar began the mighty fortress of the Alhambra in the early years of the thirteenth century. [Illustration: COURT OF THE MYRTLES, ALHAMBRA _The pool is bordered on both sides by beautiful old hedges._] As is the case with almost every Mohammedan building, its exterior is extremely plain. But once the door is passed one seems to have stepped from Europe to the Orient. Courtyards and porticos, halls and passages, open before the visitor in a truly oriental maze of color and decoration. The first important court is known as that of the Myrtles. In its center is a marble basin a hundred and thirty feet long, bordered with trees of myrtle and orange, and flanked at both ends by two-storied pavilions with slender marble shafts and graceful Moorish arches. From one of these pavilions opens the Hall of the Ambassadors, the throne room of the califs, and the largest chamber in the palace. THE ALHAMBRA'S BEAUTY