Agra Fort: A Pictorial Tour

Upon completion of Sikandra tour, we were driven to the hotel for check in and little freshening up. We certainly could use a little time away from the rain to dry out.

No sooner have we dried out, we were back out into the rain, which actually thankfully whittled down into very mild drizzle. We were visiting Agra Fort, which is designed and built by Akbar (yes, him again) in 1565. The fort was built with barricaded wall of red sandstone and houses mosque and numerous palaces, including the Musamman Burj where you can see Taj Mahal from across the river. This is also ironically the palace where Emperor Shah Jahan, who was made prisoner of his son Aurangzeb, could gaze at the Taj Mahal during his imprisonment. By the way the reason for his imprisonment is his son's greed for power.

It's all too overwhelming to be visiting Agra Fort so soon after my senses have just concluded processing all the beauty that was Sikandra. It was too much beauty in one afternoon. I'm not complaining. I made sure I was packing - batteries, that is, lots of batteries.

On with the pictorial tour:


Entrance.


Drawbridge by Amar Singh Gate.


Imposing Facade.


Tall Facade and equally imposing.


No doubt about it.


Local tourists outnumber foreign-looking ones.


A local hanging out inside the fort?


Two of the foreign tourists.


Pink goodness.


A pond used to be in this spot, where the Queen Mumtaj Mahal and Shah Jahan would fish. Where I took this is where Shah Jahan's spot and the one photographed is Mumtaj Mahal's spot. It was told that the king didn't catch any fish because he spent his time staring at his beautiful queen.


White marble columns.


Gorgeous domed ceiling.


The queen's private room.


Ornately decorated marble walls.


The decorated holes in the wall held candles for lighting during the night.


Taj Mahal seen from a hazy distance.


More inlay work.


Labor intensive.


More fabulous facade.


Eerie.


Public hall where the king listens to people's woes.


Public hall, where the king sits.


Looking up where the king sits at the public hall.


Crocs used to live in the moat.


One last shot as we drove off.

(It was tough sorting/selecting photos to blog, because I took so many photos. It is my hope that I did Agra Fort justice with this set of images.)

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