About Agra
Agra is the city of Taj Mahal, which is one of the most popular city in India and also around the world. It is located near the River Yamuna on the northern state Uttar Pradesh of India, and is the most populated city of Uttar Pradesh with more than 1.5 million people.
In the famous epic Mahabharat, Agra was referred as the forest of Agraban, and the epic dates the foundation of the city to 1475 during the reign of Raja Badal Singh. However a Persian poet named Mas'ud Sa'd Salman mentions about Agra in the 11th century. The ancient fort of Agra, Badalgarh, from the reign of Raja Badal Singh should be somewhere near or on the present fort.
In 1506, Sultan Sikandar Lodi moved the capital from Delhi to Agra. His son Ibrahim Lodi also used Agra as the capital until he was defeated by the Persian King Babur. Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire and he sent his son Humayun to capture the city. Mughal empire not only captured Agra, but also the largest diamond of that time, Koh-i-Noor. Under the dominion of Mughals, Agra lived its heydays between 1526 and 1658 and it was called Akbarabad.
Muhgals were famous with their love of architecture, and the most of the fascinating buildings that one can see today belong to the Mughal period between 15th and 16th centuries including the three UNESCO World Heritages: Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. Babur's grandson Akbar made Akbarabad the center of arts, culture and commerce and religion. He constructed many beautiful buildings including the city Fatehpur Sikri which was inspired by a Mughal military camp.
In the 17th century, Cihangir ( Jahangiri) made Akbarabad the hotspot of Muslim world. His son Sah Cihan (Shahjahan) ordered the Taj Mahal to be constructed in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. The mausoleum was completed in 1653. After that, Shah Jahan moved the capital back to Delhi and this made Agra lose its importance.
A view of Incredibility of Agra
Agra has so many historical places monuments and tourist places among of which some are going to be ascertained.
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal is well known for being a wonder of the world and most beautiful monument of India. It is a most precious heritage of Mughal dynasty with a symbol of love in memory of wife from a husband, the person he was Shah Jahan in loving memory of his loving wife Mumtaz Mahal. It took 22 years to build with a labor of 20000 workers and jewelers.
We can see the architectures style of Persia, Islamic, Turkish, Indian are involved in designing of Taj Mahal. In the center base of the dome, there are sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan. This is a masterpiece which is admired in all over the world.
Agra Fort
Agra fort was built by The Great Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1565.Actually, it was built before about 1000 years ago but Akbar renovated it in its sovereign. It is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites. The Fort includes Pearl Mosque, Diwan-E-Khas, Diwan-E-Aam, Khas mahal, Shish mahal. It was later converted into the palace at the age of Jahangir, son of Akbar. Its perimeter is an about 2.5 km and the beauty of red sandstone makes it incredible.
