Agra Fort

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View of the Agra Fort.

Agra Fort is located in Agra, India. The fort is also known as Lal Qila, Fort Rouge and Red Fort of Agra. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its much more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled palatial city.

1 History
2 Layout
3 Notable sites and structures within Agra Fort
4 Other notable facts
5 External links
6 Sources

[edit] History

Amar Singh Gate, one of two entrances into Agra's Red Fort.

By most estimates, the fort was taken over from the Lodis by the Mughals in the late 16th century, by Akbar the Great. During his reign, he shifted the government of his empire from Delhi to Agra. Because of this, much of Agra flourished and the site of the old Lodis fort began changing into more of a royal estate. Akbar tended to build from red sandstone, often inlaid with white marble and intricate decorations.

It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site finally took on its current state. Legend fortells that Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal for his wife. Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble, often inlaid with gold or semi-precious gems. He destroyed some of the earlier buildings inside the fort in order to make his own.

At the end of his life, Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son, Aurangzeb, in the fort, a punishment which might not seem so harsh, considering the luxury of the fort. It is rumored that Shah Jahan died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony with an excellent view of the Taj Mahal.

This was also a site of one of the battles during the Indian rebellion of 1857, which caused the end of the British East India Company's rule in India, and led to a century of direct rule of India by Britain.

Inside the Musamman Burj, where Shah Jahan spent the last seven years of his life under house arrest by his son Aurangzeb.

[edit] Layout

The entire site is crescent shaped, with 21 meter high walls, surrounded by a moat, facing out towards the Yamuna River. The perimeter of the site measures out to about 2.4 kilometers of towering red sandstone walls.

The walls have two gates, the 'Delhi Gate' and the 'Lahore Gate' (sometimes called Amar Singh Gate).The Delhi Gate is considered the grandest of the gates and leads into an inner gate called the Hathi Pol (Elephant Gate). Due to the fact that the Indian military (the Parachute Brigade in particular) is still using the northern portion of the Agra Fort, the Delhi Gate cannot be used by the public. Tourists enter via the Lahore Gate. Lahore Gate is named so because it faces Lahore, now in Pakistan.

The site is very important in terms of architectural history. Some of the most historically interesting mixing of Hindu and Islamic architecture reside there. In fact, some of the decorations are Islamic and yet feature dragons, elephants and birds, instead of the patterns and calligraphy, very much unheard of.

[edit] Notable sites and structures within Agra Fort

The Khas Mahal.

Jehangiri Mahal.

Anguri Bagh - 85 square, geometrically arranged gardens
Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience) - was used to speak to the people and listen to petitioners and once housed the Peacock Throne
Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience) - was used to receive kings and dignitary, features black throne of Jehangir
Golden Pavilions - beautiful pavilions with roofs shaped like the roofs of Bengali huts
Jehangiri Mahal - built by Akbar for his son Jehangir
Khas Mahal - white marble palace, one of the best examples of painting on marble
Macchi Bhawan (Fish Enclosure) - grand enclosure for harem functions, once had pools and fountains
Mina Masjid (Heavenly Mosque)- a tiny mosque; closed to the public
Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) - a private mosque of Shah Jahan
Musamman Burj - a large, octagonal tower with a balcony facing the Taj Mahal
Nagina Masjid (Gem Mosque) - mosque designed for the ladies of the court, featuring the Zenana Mina Bazaar (Ladies Bazaar) right next to the balcony, where only female merchants sold wares
Naubat Khana (Drum House) - a place where the king's musicians played
Rang Mahal - where the king's wives and mistresses lived
Shahi Burj - Shah Jahan's private work area
Sheesh Mahal (Glass Palace) or Shish Mahal - royal dressing room featuring tiny mirror-like glass-mosaic decorations on the walls

Shish Mahal's glass works.

[edit] Other notable facts

Agra Fort should not be confused with the much smaller Red Fort at Delhi. The Mughals never referred the Red Fort as a fort; rather, it was referred as the 'Lal Haveli', or the Red Bungalow. The Prime Minister of India addresses the nation from Delhi's Red Fort on August 15, India's Independence Day.

UNESCO designated the Fort a World Heritage Site in 1983.

The Agra Fort was featured in the music video for Habibi Da, a hit song of Egyptian pop star Hisham Abbas.