Sunday, October 8, 2017

Agra Fort: H5N1 Mughal Architectural Masterpiece

Agra fort or the Red Fort of Agra stands proudly unopen to the well-manicured gardens of the world-wonder of the Taj Mahal. This  resplendent Mughal monument of the16th –century is a dominant ruby-red sandstone fortress standing cradled inward its 2.5-km-long enclosing walls.

Agra Fort is also inscribed every bit a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


Agra Fort
Agra Fort is a UNESCO inscribed World Heritage Site

This beautiful construction houses a number of palaces, including the Jahangir Palace, the Khas Mahal, the Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Public Audience), the Musamman Burj, the Diwan-i-Am, amidst others. Besides the Taj Mahal, it is some other extremely pop tourist attraction inward Agra, a specimen of fine Mughal architecture.

Agra Fort has been rated every bit i of the 10 best forts inward India.

Fast Facts almost Agra Fort

Location: On the westward banking concern of the River Yamuna, almost 2km upstream from the Taj Mahal

Built by: Mughal Emperor, Akbar

Built in: 1565

Highlights: Various beautiful palaces together with ii mosques

How to Reach: From the airport, the railway station together with the primary metropolis centers, taxis together with other local carry is available to gain Agra Fort

Best fourth dimension to visit: Nov to February

Entry fee: INR 10 for Indian citizens, visitors of SAARC together with BIMSTEC Countries

                Others: States $ v or INR 250 per person

                (Note: Children upwards to fifteen years are free)

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Agra Fort, pop every bit a walled city, is erected on the banks of the river Yamuna river together with has ii gates, the Delhi Gate together with the Amar Singh Gate.

Tourists are allowed to larn inward the fort entirely through the Amar Singh Gate. Spread inward 2.5 kms of area, this expansive complex comprises of several bastions, courts, towers, gateways, ramparts that are a symbol of the strength of the one-time Mughal Empire.

History together with anecdotes
Originally, a brick fort owned past times the Chauhan Rajputs, it kickoff came to limelight inward 1080 AD when a forcefulness of Ghaznavide captured it. Sikandar Lodi (1487-1517) was Delhi’s kickoff Sultan who shifted to Agra together with made this fort his domicile together with governed the province from here.

This made Agra gain the condition of the minute capital. After his expiry inward 1517, Ibrahim Lodi his boy ran his dominion from the fort for the side past times side ix years. He had commissioned a number of wells, palaces together with a mosque during his rule. However, inward the Battle of Panipat inward 1526, he was defeated together with killed.

Post Panipat’s kickoff battle, the Fort together with its sprawling treasure were captured past times the Mughals including a beautiful diamond that after became pop every bit the Kohinoor diamond. In a chronological order, Mughal emperors- Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan together with Aurangzeb lived at this fort together with ruled the province from here.

Akbar realized the significance of the strategic place of Agra together with had made it his upper-case missive of the alphabet inward 1558. Since the fort was inward a dilapidated state, he re-built inward ruby-red sandstone. After the foundation was set past times the architects, the inner amount was built inward bricks together with the external surfaces were inward ruby-red sandstone. After around 4000 workers worked for around 8 years, the construction came to an goal inward 1573.

It was during the reign of Shah Jahan, the grandson of Akbar together with the builder of the Taj Mahal, that today’s Agra Fort finally took its form. Contrary to other predecessors, Shah Jahan erected structures inward white marble, amongst a frail inlay of semi-precious gems together with gilt carvings. He also demolished some older buildings inside the fort, together with built them every bit per his liking together with taste.

In the in conclusion years of his life, Shah Jahan was locked upwards past times Aurangzeb, his boy inside the fort. If rumors are to survive believed Shah Jahan took his in conclusion breath inward Muasamman Burj, a huge tower that consists of a marble balcony that offered an amazing thought of the Taj Mahal where his honey married adult woman Mumtaz Mahal was buried.

Agra Fort has also been the site of i of the battles that took house at the fourth dimension the kickoff Indian rebellion inward the twelvemonth 1857. This rebellion was the goal of the dominion of the British East Bharat Company inward Bharat together with starting of the instantly dominion of U.K. inward India. Today, what nosotros encounter inward this magnificent fort is entirely a fraction of what it was inward its days of glory.

Some interesting facts almost Agra fort
Agra fort comprises of beautiful structures inward both ruby-red sandstone every bit good every bit white marble, commissioned every bit per their gustation past times ii generations of Mughal emperors, Akbar together with after Shah Jahan

Surrounded past times a fetid moat, the fort inward Auricular shape, was massive double walls which every bit twenty meters inward overstep together with are 2.5 meters inward circumference

The Agra Fort, inward 2004, had won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture inward 2004 together with to commemorate this event, a exceptional postage was issued Bharat Post

The fort contains of some striking palaces together with other structures such every bit Jahangiri Mahal, Khas Mahal, Diwan-i-Khas, Diwan-i-Am, Sheesh Mahal, Shah Jahani Mahal, Macchi Bhawan, Akbari Mahal, Bengali Mahal together with Musamman Burj

Within the complex of the fort,  iii beautiful mosques- Moti Masjid, Nagina Masjid together with Mina Masjid together with the Zenana Mina Bazaar

The walls of the marble pavilions accept beautiful intricate carvings

To proceed the rooms cool, at that spot were hollows inward the walls together with they were filled amongst running H2O together with thence that cool breeze would menses inward the room

Some of the balconies inward the pavilions, offering spectacular views of the river Yamuna together with the Taj Mahal

In a similar trend every bit the Delhi’s Red Fort, Agra Fort is also i of the most pop symbols of the Mughal grandeur nether its rulers similar Akbar, Jahangir together with Shah Jahan

Most of the marble structures inside the fort are similar the best specimens of the Indo-Muslim fine art amongst influences from the Timurid fine art of Persia

The Agra Fort had an of import purpose to play inward the Sherlock Holmes mystery novel, The Sign of the Four, written past times Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Contributed past times

Sumber http://insightsindia.blogspot.co.id

No comments:

Post a Comment