The side building on the left is a working Mosque. The one on the right, because it isn’t facing Mecca, can’t function as a mosque. It is called a “guest palace”. Everything about the Taj Mahal is symmetrical, symbolic of heaven where everything will be perfect.

Bamboo scaffolding was used to get the main courtyard and the first fifteen feet of the building built. Then a huge earthen / brick ramp was built on the right side of the building to haul the granite blocks up. It was estimated that taking down this ramp would take a couple of years. The king decreed that the bricks were free to anyone who wanted them. Within a couple of days the entire ramp was gone.