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Agra...
Agra has long been renowned as the city of the Taj Mahal.
This has often overshadowed the fact that this royal Mughal
has, in addition to the legendary Taj, many magnificent monuments
that epitomise the high point of the Mughal architectural
achievement. Not even Delhi the seat of kings and emperors
for over a thousand years, can boast such a heritage of architectural
and cultural splendour from the golden age of the Great Mughals.
Agra was the chosen city of the Mughal emperors during the
early years. It was here that the founder of the dynasty,
Babur, laid out the first formal Persian garden on the banks
of the River Yamuna. Here, Akbar, his Across Here, Akbar,
his grandson, raised the towering ramparts of the great Red
Fort. Within its walls, Jehangir built rose-red palaces, courts
and gardens. Shahjehan embellished it with marbled mosques,
palaces and pavilions of gem-inlaid white marble. At Sikandra,
on the outskirts of Agra, Akbar built his own garden mausoleum.
And at Fatehpur Sikri he created a whole new city - a leap
of the imagination that made real a unique concept of planning
and design and gave expression to a style of architecture
that was a perfect blend of Islamic spatial concepts and the
Hindu genius for decorative sculpture. Across the river, Jehangir's
gifted queen, Noorjehan, designed an exquisite marble-inlaid
tomb for her parents. But Agra's crowning glory remains the
Taj Mahal, a monument to love built by Shahjehan in memory
of his beloved queen, Mumtaz Mahal.
Taj Mahal A Monument
of Love
The Taj Mahal stands serene and perfect in its garden of cypresses
and reflecting pools on the banks of the River Yamuna. Its
pure white marble shimmers silver in the moonlight, glows
softly pink at dawn, and at close of day reflects the fiery
tints of the setting sun. The Taj in all its timeless beauty
is still the inspiration of poets and painters, writers and
photographers. And lovers still meet here in the moonlight
in the shadow of the world's most famous monument to love.
Shahjehan
built the Taj in memory of Mumtaz Mahal who died giving birth
to their 14th child. No cost was spared to make it the most
beautiful monument the world had ever seen. White marble and
red sandstone, silver and gold, camelian and jasper, moonstone
and jade, lapiz lazuli and coral were fashioned by 20,000
skilled workers to make the emperor's dream a reality. It
took 22 years to complete - a symbol of eternal love where
Shahjehan too lies buried, re-united at last with his beloved
Mumtaz.
Set at the north end of a formal Persian garden
with water courses, paved walkways and rows of dark cypresses,
the Taj rises on a high red sandstone base topped by a huge
white marble terrace, its flawless double dome flanked by
four tapering minarets. Within lies the jewel-inlaid cenotaph
of the queen, and a little to one side - the only asymmetrical
feature in the Taj - the richly decorated casket of the emperor.
Both are enclosed by an octagonal screen of finely pierced
marble. So perfect are the proportions of the Taj, so exquisite
its workmanship, that it has been described as having been
designed by giants and finished by jewellers.
Places to see in Agra :
Agra Fort :
Few forts in the world have a more fascinating story to tell
than the Great Fort of Agra. Originally planned as an impregnable
military structure by Akbar, the Agra Fort, over a period
of time, acquired all the elegance, lavishness and majesty
of an imperial palace.
Situated 3 km upstream of the Taj Mahal on the
right bank of the Yamuna, the Agra Fort was built under the
direction of Akbar, by Mohammed Quasim Khan, his Commander-in-Chief
and Governor of Kabul. It took eight years to complete and
entailed an expenditure of three and a half million rupees.
 Itmad-Ud-Daulah's
Tomb : About 4 km north of the Taj, on the left bank
of the Yamuna, is the perfectly proportioned marble mausoleum
of ltmad-ud-Daulah. Noor Jehan constructed this splendid marble
monument in her father's memory. This double-storied marble
tomb is replete with mosaic, inlaid with semi-precious stones.
Sikandra : Sikandra
is 8 km north-east on the Agra-Delhi road. It is on the same
side of the river Yamuna as the Taj. Sikandra was built in
1492 by Sikander Lodhi, a ruler of one of the last dynasties
of the Delhi Sultanate.
Akbar, in his time, ordered the construction
of Sikandra again, this time as a site for his mausoleum,
but he died before it could be completed. The work was completed
by his son Jehangir in 1613. The tomb is a combination of
Muslim and Hindu architectural styles. The building of red
sandstone is four storeys tall, approximately 31 metres in
height. The first three storeys are of red sandstone, while
the fourth is entirely of marble.
Dayal Bagh (Soami Bagh)
:
Situated 12 km from the hotel, this is the headquarter of
the Radhasoami religious sect, founded in 1861 by Shri Shiv
Dayal Singh, also known as Swamiji Maharaj. Being built to
commemorate the Supreme Creator, this tall, unfinished facade
of marble, lined with exquisitely carved pillars and panels,
was estimated to cost about five million rupees when it was
conceived. Today, the cost of work finished and work still
to be done will run into ten million. About 500 devotees stay
in the colony adjoining the samadhi. It is claimed that it
may rival the Taj Mahal in splendour when it is completed.
Travel Information
:
Road : 204 Kms. from Delhi
Air : Daily Air services
connects Agra to Delhi, Khajuraho, and Varanasi
Rail : Agra Is connected
most of the parts of india through rail network.
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