World most majestic mausoleum - Agra Fort 251; Taj Mahal 252
What and Why
Agra (Hindi: आगरा) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna (यमुना) river and is the first city in this series to house more than one UNESCO WHS. Most importantly it houses the Tāj Mahal (ताज महल) and the Agra Fort (आगरा का किला, Agra ka qila), with Tāj Mahal being arguably the most famous buildings in world architecture, especially exhibiting the extreme beauty and forte of Mughal architecture, and deservedly named as one of the New7Wonders of the World.
Agra is a major tourist destination as it contains the two UNESCO WHS, and a number of other important monuments, especially Mughal buildings. It is almost fair to say one has not been to India (भारत, Bhārat) if one had not pay a visit to Agra.
Surprisingly, while Agra was the capital of the Mughal Empire (Persian: امپراتوری گورکانی هند, Mughliyah Saltanat) during the 16th to 17th century CE, and once stood as the cultural and commercial centre of the massive empire, it seems little trace of pre-Islamic era have left, and both from the city architecture and overall culture.
Toponymy
The name Agra is derived from the Sanskrit epic Mahābhārata (Sanskrit: महाभारतम्) in the form Agravana (Sanskrit: अग्रवणम्), meaning 'grove forest'. Incredibly the modern name was used first by the Greek scholar Claudius Ptolemy (Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος, Klaúdios Ptolemaîos).
See
Tāj Mahal (ताजमहल)
Easily the most famous building in the world, Tāj Mahal, meaning 'royal palace' in Persian is an ivory-white marble mausoleum was commissioned in 1632 CE by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (Persian: شاه جهان, né شهاب الدین محمد خرم (Persian), Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram), meaning 'king of the world' to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal (Persian: ممتاز محل), meaning 'the exhalted of the palace', and also houses his own tomb. The mausoleum is set in a massive formal garden and was constructed by some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the chief architect, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri (Persian: احمد لاهوری). Almost achieving universal acclaim, its perfect proportions, exquisite craftsmanship and beautiful colours combine to form the biggest tourist magnet of India.
The tomb is the focus of the entire complex of the Tāj Mahal and is a symbol of crazy love. It is a large, white marble structure standing on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an arch-shaped doorway topped by a large dome, around a Persian garden form called charbagh (चारबाग़), deriving from the Persian term 'چھار باغ' meaning 'four gardens'. The charbagh is a typical massive squarish garden based on the four paradises of the Quran (Arabic: القرآن), partitioned by water channels, as shown in the picture above.
The main Mughal tomb follows most Islamic buildings and manifests in octagonal form.
In the Tāj Mahal, there is a distinctive use of red sandstone and white marble, which manifests a hierarchical significance. The surrounding buildings, temples and shrines use red sandstones and represents the warrior or kshatriya (क्षत्रिय, kṣatra) caste. The white colour is reserved for the highest priest or Brahmin (ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa). The Mughals employed such colour code and identified themselves with the two leading classes of Indian social structure and thus defined themselves as rulers.
The four minarets were constructed tilting slightly outside of the plinth so that in the event of collapse, the material from the towers would tend to fall away from the tomb. The exterior decors of the Tāj are amongst the finest in Mughal architecture. The whitewashed marble of the building exhibits different colours during the day: bluish in the early morning, whitish-grey in the afternoon and orange during dusk. Personally I have had the fortunate to have seen all three colours as I had been there twice: once during dawn / noon and recently dusk time. My suggestion is that the best time is the morning, because of less crowd and one would be able to see the details of the architecture.
The decorative elements were created by applying paint, stone inlays or carvings. the decorative elements can be grouped into either calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs (called pietra dura), all inspired by the the Islamic geometric patterns of the charbagh.
Outside facade of the Tāj.
The panel of Islamic geometric art forms.
Soon after the Tāj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb (اورنگزیب, né اورنگزیب عالمگیر یا عالمگیر اعظم (Persian), Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad), the name meaning 'ornament of the throne', and Shah Jahan was put under house arrest at the nearby Agra Fort, as below. The myth being Shah Jahan intended to use the national chest to build another tomb for himself, the black Tāj Mahal (काला ताज महल, qāla Tāj Mahal) and convinced Aurangzeb to believe his father had gone nuts. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aurangzeb buried him in the mausoleum next to his wife.
The tomb itself is just a cenotaph. The actual tomb is hidden inside a crypt at the basement closed to the public. We were told that the interior of the mausoleum has a reverberation time of 28 s, where the echo would retain in the interior. This is to match the length of the prayer to Mumtaz, and would linger in the room through the reverterbation.
Temple next door, Mehman Khana (मेहमान ख़ाना). The word itself means ‘room for important guest’.
Agra Fort (आगरा का किला)
Agra Fort was the formidable royal residence fort of the Mughal Empire. It was built on a fort ruin commissioned by Akbar I (اکبر کبیر, né ابو الفتح جلال الدين محمد اكبر (Persian), Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar).
The overall plan of the fort is approximately trapezoidal with most of the building structures on the southern side of the fort, as above. We entered rom the Amar Singh Gate (अमर सिंह गेट) from the south.
Musamman Burj (मुसम्मन बुर्जो) - The palace where Shah Jahan is imprisoned till his death. One can have a good view of the Taj through the windows.
One can have a good view of the Tāj through the windows. This view is from where Shah Jahan was imprisoned, but Aurangzeb allows him to stare at Tāj Mahal through the window slit.
Shish Mahal (शीश महली) - The glass pieces have high mirror quality which glittered and twinkled when the sun is not shining.
The inner courtyard.
Inner garden.
Fortress.
Public hall (दीवान-ए-आम, Diwan-i-aam ).
I'timād-ud-Daulah Maqbara (एतमादुद्दौला का मकबरा)
Affectionately known as the baby Tāj due to its white-marble resemblance, I'timad-ud-Daulah (एतमादुद्दौला का मकबरा) is also called the jewel box due to its cubic shape. The name means pillar of the state in Persian and was commissioned by Nur Jahan (Persian: نور جہاں), for her father Mirzā Ghiyās Beg (Persian: مرزا غياث بيگ), the grandfather of Mumtaz Mahal.
Buy and Do
Marble (संगमर्मर)
The most famous product of Agra is marble (संगमर्मर, sangamarmar) stone products, ranging from a small chess piece or ashtray to a big table. There are plenty of these over-priced tourist-trap shops in the city. Begin haggling from at least 50% of the marked price.
Eat and Drink
Chaat (चाट)
The snack of India, especially in Agra, is chaat (चाट) which is a gumbo of assorted spiced potatoes, chickpeas or crackers, mixed with chilli or chutney (चटनी, chaatnee). It is commonly served along the street stalls, which therefore does not favour tourists to savour. In restaurants it is sometimes served more delicately in the form of an hors-oeuvre. Chaat derives from the Hindi word 'चाट (cāṭ)', meaning 'tasting' or 'lick'.
Having said that, please do not even attempt to eat or drink in the streets of India, if you are not a frequent traveller. India is never the most hygienic place on Earth, and only drink bottled beverage, and take excpetion only when you are being served at home. It is almost guaranteed that you would get into all sorts of bowel problems if you do not take heed of this advice. Not perhaps the best advertisement for Indian street food.
One of the most famous restaurants in Agra is Pinch of Spice. The restaurant serves both à la carte and buffet but is so popular that the wait is usually an hour.
Stay
There are hotels aplenty in Agra, ranging from the budget to the extremely exorbitant. We stayed in the very comfortable and good valued Doubletree by Hilton (हिल्टन द्वारा डबलट्री). Supremely good and and well-priced.
Getting There and Around
Agra is not well served and tourists usually come by buses or car from either Jaipur (जयपुर) (blogged in Jaipur (जयपुर)) or Lucknow (लखनऊ), which was our case. There is now a new expressway from Lucknow to Agra and has shortened the usual six-hour journey to around two hours. We took our car and used this brand-new expressway, but we suffered three punctures along the way. You can imagine the road and car conditions in India...
Tāj Mahal is the most popular tourist site in India and it is the costliest of all Indian monuments. The entry ticket is INR 1100₹ for foreigner while Agra Fort cost us 500₹. Spend at least two to three full days in the city.
UNESCO Inscriptions
An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.
Near the gardens of the Taj Mahal stands the important 16th-century Mughal monument known as the Red Fort of Agra. 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 two very beautiful mosques.
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