About Agra Fort
It is a fact that most people know Agra as the city of the beautiful TajMahal and also plan their visit accordingly. Though once in Agra, they realise that the city has much more to offer, one of them being the Agra Fort. The fort is located at a distance of 2 kms from the Taj Mahal on the same river bank and was initially built by the great Mughal Emperor, Akbar after a successful consolidation of power. Later additions were made byother Mughal rulers as well. In its hey day, the fort functioned not only asmilitary strategic point, rather it was also a house for various palaces.There are also halls and mosques with in its premises. The architecture of the fort is a brilliant combination of Islamic and Hindu style.
Palaces, Halls and Mosques of Agra Fort
» Palaces - There are three important Mahals in the fort - Jehangir Mahal, Khas Mahal and Sheesh Mahal. The first of these palaces, the Jehangir Palace was built by Akbar as a residence for his son.The palace has a huge courtyard leading to beautiful halls richly carved with figures of animals and floral motifs. There is a smaller palace near by which belonged to Akbar's wife, Jodha Bai.
The second palace, Khas Mahal, was built by Shah Jahan as a private palace.The Mahal is on one side of the Angoori Bagh with the rest of three sides surrounded by residential quarters for women. Out of the three pavilions of the palace, one was used by the emperor as his sleeping chamber
.The third palace, Sheesh Mahal at the north eastern side of the Khas Mahaland is supposed to have served as the dressing room of royal family. There are two large but equal sized halls in the Sheesh Mahal, the walls of which are adorned with tiny mirrors. In fact, the mahal is a classic or even the best example of glass decoration in India.
» Mosques - There are two mosques in the fort known as the Nagina Masjid and the Moti Masjid. The first one is a private mosque built and used by Shah Jahan. The later and the more important Mosque is also called the Pearl mosque. It is built of white marbles with three domes crowning its reds and stone walls.
The beauty and elegance exuded by these mosques is worth watching by tourists on their visit to Agra.
» Halls - There are two important halls in the Agra Fort known as the Diwan-I-khas and Diwan-I-Aam. The former hall is the place where Shah Jahan (who built this hall) met important peoples. Basically a three sided pavilion, the hall has a terrace in front with two marble thrones, one of which belongs to Jehangir. Below this terrace lies the Machchi Bhawan, meant for the harem functions.
The other hall was also built by Shah Jahan and served as a place where hemet his court officials and common people to hear their grievances and solve their problems. It was here that the famous Peacock Throne was kept before being shifted to Delhi by Aurangzeb.
Other structures in the fort - Musamman Burj and Hammam-i-Shahi
Reaching Agra Fort
» Air - Agra has its own airport known as the Kheria Airport which is situated at a distance of 6 kms from the city.
» Rail - Agra is well connected by rails to all the major cities of India.
» Road - Agra is well connected to all the major cities of Uttar Pradesh by road as well as other cities also. Distance between Agra and Delhi is 204kms.
