Adventures in India, Part 19 -- Agra, The Red Fort

The Red Fort is not as famous as, but to my mind more interesting than, the Taj Mahal. There has been a fortification on the spot for at least 1000 years, but the limestone structures date from the Sixteenth Century. It has housed such Mughal illuminaries as Humayan, Babur, Akbar, Shah Jahan [who was imprisoned here], and Aurangzeb, and amongst its treasures was the famed Koh-i-Noor diamond. 

The outer battlements,

The main entrance,

Inside the walls a grand city.

The stand where the Maharaja would hear petitions.

The view from the towers is spectacular.

The royal residence.

And from the parapets Shah Jahan could look out across the river toward the Taj, where his beloved wife was interred. It's only little more than a mile distant, but the pollution renders it ghostlike.

Adventures in India, Part 17 -- The Taj Mahal

Of course the thing that everyone comes to Agra to see is the Taj Mahal. Built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to honor his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, this white marble structure is one of the great triumphs of world architecture.

We went to the Taj twice -- the first time in the afternoon [at which time I didn't take any pictures but just planned my next visit] and then at dawn on the following day, at which time the following pictures were taken.

The sun rising over the entry gate to the Taj complex.

Here's a view of the complex from inside the gate. 

The entrance gate, the Darwaza.

The classic view of the main mausoleum where Shah Jahan and his wife are interred.

The Taj mosque, the Masjid.

The "guest house" or jawab [answer] built to complement the mosque.

The interior of the guest house.

The Taj from inside the guest house.

Calligraphy and other decorations on the mausoleum.

The back of the Taj along the Yamuna River.