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Home » Monuments In Agra
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| Monuments In Agra |
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The city of Agra is known for the beautiful Taj Mahal, but there are many more grand monuments worth seeing when you travel to this historic city. The Mughal dynasty ruled from Agra and endowed it with many fine buildings and monuments such as Agra Fort, which contains grand halls and palaces and the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, a model for the Taj Mahal. |
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Because of Agra's location in the heart of North India, a trip to Agra can be combined with a tour of many other North Indian heritage destinations. The tomb of Akbar is in Sikandra near Agra, the deserted Mughal city of Fatehpur Sikri and the holy city of Mathura are nearby. Enjoy traveling back to Mughal times while exploring the monuments and architectural attractions of Agra and its surroundings, while staying at a hotel in Agra. he Agra Fort is situated on a bank of the River Yamuna in Agra. It was built during the years 1565 and 1574 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Agra FortGreat. Later, his grandson, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, added to the palaces and structures within the fort. The Agra Fort has a mighty wall made of red sandstone, which runs for 2 ½ Kilometers around the perimeter of the fort. The main entrance to the Agra Fort is through a grand gateway called the Delhi Gate, which is decorated with inlay work in white marble. The Agra Fort is partially occupied by the Indian Army and sections of the fort are restricted for tourists. There is another entrance through which tourists can enter; this is called the Amar Singh Gate.
After entering the Agra Fort, you will find yourself in the grand courtyard. The Diwan-i-Am or Hall of Public Audience and Diwan-i-Khas or Hall of Private Audience are located within the fort and contain examples of exquisite Mughal carvings on their many pillars. There are grand palaces, such as the Khas Mahal and the Shish Mahal, within the Agra Fort. The rooms in the palaces within the Agra Fort were kept cool by an ingenious system of water channels that ran through all the rooms keeping them cool as the water evaporated. The high ceilings and marble latticed screens also provided natural cooling and blocked out the intense rays of the sun. The mosques, Nagina Masjid and Mina Masjid, within the Agra Fort, were used by the royal family and the Mughal courtiers for prayer services and the Mina Bazar was a small market where the ladies of the Zenana could shop for perfumes, clothes, cosmetics, and jewellery. There are formal gardens with flowering plants and fruit trees in between the palaces within the Agra Fort. You're sure to feel transported back to Mughal times when you explore the Agra Fort on tours to Agra India, with Agra Hub.
The Agra Fort is situated at a short distance from the Taj Mahal, less than 2 Kilometers away. Shah Jahan was imprisoned in the Agra Fort by his son Aurangzeb, when he took over the Mughal throne. Shah Jahan spent the last years of his life in the Agra Fort, where he is said to passed his days looking from the balcony of the Mussaman Burj, a tower in the Agra Fort, towards the Taj Mahal, where his beloved consort Mumtaz Mahal was buried. You can see the view of the Taj Mahal from the Agra Fort, on your tours to Agra India. Welcome to Sikandra, a supurb of Agra, only 13 km. from the Agra Fort, the last resting place of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Akbar was the Sikandra Tombgreatest of the Mughal emperors and one of the most secular minded royalties of his time. He was the heir to a long tradition of oriental refinement, a great patron of the arts, literature, philosophy and science. A visit to Akbar's monument opens before one, the completeness of Akbar's personality as completely as the Taj Mahal does of Mumtaz Mahal's. Akbar's vast, beautifully carved, red-ochre sandstone tomb is set amidst a lush garden. Akbar himself planned his own tomb and selected a suitable site for it. To construct a tomb in one's lifetime was a Tartary custom which the Mughals followed religiously. Akbar's son Jahangir completed the construction of this pyramidal tomb in 1613.
Although there is only one entrance in use today there exist four red sandstone gates which lead to the mausoleum complex. The decoration on the gateways is strikingly bold, with large mosaic patterns set into it. The gateway's four minarets rising from the corners are particularly striking. Built of red sandstone, the minarets are inlaid with white marble polygonal patterns; the pleasing Proportions & Profuse surface ornamentation makes the gateways very impressive. These gateways reflect a curious hybrid of different styles of architecture-Hindu, Muslim Christian and a patent mixture of Akbar's typical style. A broad paved causeway lead to the tomb, which has five storeys and is in the shape of a truncated pyramid. The main tomb has a unique square design which is unparalleled by all other Mughal buildings.
The tomb stands in the center of a vast garden, which is enclosed by high walls on all sides. In the middles of each enclosing wall is a monumental gateway. The whole garden is divided into four equal quarters on the conventional charbhag plan. Each quarter is separated by a high terrace or raised path with a narrow shallow water channel running at the center. Each terrace has in the center, a tank with fountains.
The tombstone of Akbar is placed in the centre of this room. Geometrical designs achieved by the mosaics of glazed tiles or of colored stones, predominate the tomb. The mosaic work is generally in the tass eleated style, that is, square or rectangular pieces of colored stones were assembled and arranged together to form patterns. Semi-precious stones were inlaid into a hollowed depression in the white marble slab by Emperor Jahangir later on . Akbar's daughters Shakrul Nisha Begum and Aram Bano are also entombed on this floor. |
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| Taj Mahal |
Taj Mahal was built by a Muslim, Emperor Shah Jahan (died 1666 C.E.) in the memory of his dear wife and queen Mumtaz Mahal at Agra, India. It is an "elegy in marble" or some say an expression of a "dream." Taj Mahal (meaning Crown Palace) is a Mausoleum that houses the grave of queen Mumtaz Mahal at the lower chamber. The grave of Shah Jahan was added to it later. The queen’s real name was Arjumand Banu. In the tradition of the Mughals, important ladies of the royal family were given another name at their marriage or at some other significant event in their lives, and that new name was commonly used by the public. Shah Jahan's real name was Shahab-ud-din, and he was known as Prince Khurram before ascending to the throne in 1628. Taj Mahal was constructed over a period of twenty-two years, employing twenty thousand workers. It was completed in 1648 C.E. at a cost of 32 Million Rupees. The construction documents show that its master architect was Ustad ‘Isa, the renowned Islamic architect of his time. The documents contain names of those employed and the inventory of construction materials and their origin. Expert craftsmen from Delhi, Qannauj, Lahore, and Multan were employed. In addition, many renowned Muslim craftsmen from Baghdad, Shiraz and Bukhara worked on many specialized tasks. |
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| Chini Ka Rauza |
This is a tomb to Mir Afzal Khan, a senior Wazir or minister in the court of Shah Jahan. Afzal Khan was actually a resident of Shiraz in the then Persia who migrated to India on the invitation of Shah Jahan. He was actually a poet-scholar who later rose to the post of Wazir-e-Ala i.e. Prime Minister in the reign of Shah Jahan. The man himself constructed Chini-ka-Rauza. The name is derived from two Persian words Chini Mitti and Rauza that means glazed tiles and tomb respectively.
Built in 1635, Chini-ka-Rauza is situated just a Kilometer North to the famous Itmad-ud-Daula on the same side of Yamuna but is in dire straits due to negligence. Though it does not match the charm of Itmad-ud-daula, its importance as being the only pure Persian architecture in India, makes it worth preserving.
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| Tomb Of Itimad Ud Daulah |
The Itmad Ud Daulah's Tomb in Agra, India showcases intricate latticework and carvings on marble to produce stunning marble screens. The delicate pietra dura work done on the walls of this serene mausoleum, the pure marble mausoleum with its four minarets set in the midst of a char bagh style garden is believed to have inspired the inlay work done on the Taj Mahal that was constructed on similar lines, though on an extremely grand scale. An interesting feature of the inlay work done on the walls of Itmad Ud Daulah's Tomb in Agra, India is the recurring theme of wine caskets with snakes for handles, you also notice the delicately laid patterns of cypress trees that indicate death and exotic combinations of geometrical patterns that ornament this tomb. |
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| Fatehpur Sikri |
| Fatehpur Sikri was planned as a great town by Akbar with great care and planning in the honor of Sheikh Salim Chisti but had to be abandoned only after fifteen years due to scarcity of water in the town. Sheikh Salim Chishti was a Sufi saint who blessed the Akbar with his first son and heir, who was named Salim after him and later came to be known as Jehangir. The town was otiginally named Sikri after the village, where it was founded but its twin city Fatehpur (Victory Town) was erected to celebrate Akbar's conquest of Gujarat in June 1573. |
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| Agra Fort |
| Within a radius of 3 kilometers, on the banks of the river Yamuna rises the crescent-like Agra Fort. Designed and built by Akbar in 1565.A.D., the fort is surrounded by a 70-foot high wall. It houses the beautiful Pearl Mosque and numerous palaces including the Jahangiri Mahal, Diwan-i-Khas, Diwan-i-Am and Moti Masjid. The fort has four gates and is enclosed by a double barricaded wall of red sandstone. Many buildings were constructed within the fort of which very few remain till date. One of the most significant ones is the multi-storeyed Jahangiri Mahal built by Akbar for his wife Jodha Bai. The Mahal is reached through an impressive gateway and its inner courtyard consists of beautiful halls, profuse carvings on stone, exquisitely carved heavy brackets, piers and cross beams. Most of the panels in the eastern hall are decorated with the Persian styled stucco paintings in gold and blue. It is believed that a century later most of the structures were dismantled by Shahjahan and were replaced with white marble pavilions covered with intricate inlay work of which the most prominent ones are the Diwan-i-khas, the Mausam Burj and the Shaha Burj. Away from the waterfront he built the Moti Masjid and the Diwan-i-Am. |
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| Buland Darwaza |
| The Buland Darwaza towers above the courtyard of the mosque. The Buland Darwaza is semi octagonal in plan and is topped by pillars and chhatris. Buland Darwaza echoes early Mughal design with simple ornamentation, carved verses from the Koran and towering arches. There are thirteen smaller domed kiosks on the roof, stylized battlement and small turrets and inlay work of white and black marble. On the outside a long flight of steps sweeps down the hill giving the gateway additional height. A Persian inscription on eastern arch way of the Buland Darwaza records Akbar's conquest over Deccan in 1601 A.D. |
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| Akbar`s Tomb At Sikandra |
| Akbar started building his own mausoleum, near Agra, that was to be a perfect blend of Hindu, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist and Jain designs and motifs, bespeaking of his religious tolerance and secular views. However, he could not complete it and died. Thus, his son Jehangir completed his tomb, popularly known as Sikandra after Sikandra Lodi, who established the community where Akbar's Tomb is located. However, Jehangir made quite a number of alterations in the original plan, in keeping with the development of Mughal art and architecture. The tomb has three-storeyed red sandstone minarets displaying wondrous inlay work of marble on the four corners of the building. 'Langurs', black-faced monkeys have found a safe haven in the beautiful gardens surrounding the mausoleum and often stray to the walkways too. |
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