Agra Fort - Uttar Pradesh State

Event date: 4th July 2009

I've been advised that the best time to visit Taj Mahal was in early morning when the marble floor was not yet hot from the burning sun. Thus, after I managed to complete a tour in Fatehpur Sikri a day before I checked in to Park Plaza Hotel, I covered both Taj Mahal and Agra Fort on my own, first half of the day of  day 2 in Agra. As soon as I finished touring the Agra Fort, I quickly went back to the hotel, freshen-up and checked out heading back to Delhi. Let's read the facts of Agra Fort obtained from the website and enjoy the photos of them.

The main gate, Amar Singh Gate

Near the gardens of the Taj Mahal stands the important 16th-century Mughal monument known as the Red Fort of Agra. I took a trishaw rides from Taj Mahal to Agra Fort and asked the same trishaw guy to wait for me to take me back to the same spot he picked me up. It was so near and faster by trishaw from Taj Mahal to Agra Fort. This powerful fortress of red sandstone encompasses, within its 2.5-km-long enclosure walls, the imperial city of the Mughal rulers. It comprises many fairy-tale palaces, such as the Jahangir Palace and the Khas Mahal, built by Shah Jahan; audience halls, such as the Diwan-i-Khas; and 2 very beautiful mosques.

Administration building near the entrance gate

Diwan-i-Khas in white marble

The Red Fort and the Taj Mahal bear an exceptional and complementary testimony to a civilization which has disappeared, that of the Mogul Emperors. Agra's history goes back more than 2,500 years, but it was not until the reign of the Mughals that Agra became more than a provincial city. Humayun, son of the founder of the Mogul Empire, was offered jewellery and precious stones by the family of the Raja of Gwalior, one of them the famous Koh-i-Noor. The heyday of Agra came with the reign of Humayun's son, Akbar the Great. During his reign, the main part of the Agra Fort was built.

Persian pillars at hall of audience (Diwan-i-Khas)

Emperor's Chamber at Diwan-i-Khas

The Red Fort of Agra is a powerful fortress founded in 1565 by the Emperor Akbar (1556-1605) on the right bank of the Yamuna river; it is placed today on the north-west extremity of the Shah Jahan Gardens which surround the Taj Mahal and clearly form, with them, a monumental unity.

Balcony of Jahangir Palace

Persian arts

This bastion fortress, with walls of red sandstone rising above a moat and interrupted by graceful curves and lofty bastions, encompasses within its enclosure walls of 2.5 km, the imperial city of the Moghul rulers. Like the Delhi Fort, that of Agra is one of the most obvious symbols of the Mogul grandeur which asserted itself under Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

The wall has two gates, the Delhi Gate and the Amar Singh Gate. The original and grandest entrance was through the Delhi Gate, which leads to the inner portal called the Hathi Pol or Elephant Gate. But now the entrance to the fort is only through the Amar Singh Gate.

Palace Hall

The citadel comprises a large number of fairy-like palaces: the Khas Mahal, the Shish Mahal, the octagonal tower of Muhammam Burj, as well as reception rooms: Diwan-i-Khas, built in 1637 and the many pillared Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience), constructed in 1628, under the reign of the luxury-loving Shah Jahan (1630-55). Within the palatial complex, there are two very beautiful mosques of white marble, the Moti Masjid or the Pearl Mosque, constructed in 1646-53 by Shah Jahan and the Nagina Masjid built under the reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707).

Several of the buildings are made from pure marble with beautiful carvings; all of these monuments mark the apogee of an Indo-Muslim art strongly marked by influences from Persia which already manifested itself in Timurid art.

Emperor Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in Agra Fort, from which he had a view of the building erected for his deceased wife. Shah Jahan is said to have died in the Musamman Burj, a tower with a beautiful marble balcony.

Me at Mussaman Burj with Taj Mahal as background features

The last accommodation of Emperor Shah Jahan

Notes: The trishaw guy had a memorable face. Though I did not take any picture of him but I shall remember his face for lifetime. He did not speak much but was a cheerful man in his late 30's. I kept on analyzing him and visualizing how difficult his life would be (maybe I should stop watching Hindi movie to have such idea about a stranger's life) but his attitude (cheering and singing to all) despite his sweat pedaling me in his trishaw was priceless. I still remembered how he shouted my name when he saw me out from the Fort gate with his cheerful face. When I get down from his trishaw, I doubled his fare, gave away my food and drink to him. He was surprised but I was happy.