Our first stop for the day in Agra is Agra Fort, the center of power for the Mughal empire for almost a century at the beginning of the 17th century. It actually looks the part when compared to the Red Fort in New Delhi as it wasn’t damaged as extensively. Our driver drops us at the entrance and we avoid the guides and louts as we make our way to the ticket office and then up through multiple defensive layers to the well protected fort.
We turn right from the entrance directly to Jahangir Palace a majestic building situated close the entrance. The palace was built by Akbar for his Hindu wives and is one of the earliest surviving buildings of Akbar’s reign, it is a bit surprising to see a palace for the wives so close to the main entrance, usually they are further back.
There are quite a few intricate details on and inside Jahangir Palace, we especially like the beautiful ceiling, it is quite colorful.
The main room is quite impressive and we wonder how it was used during its heyday. Was it like a ballroom or community gathering room or something else?
As we explore more we notice that not everything is fully restored, which would be quite an effort. Still what is restored gives you a great idea regarding how it must have looked hundreds of years ago, which is impressive.
As we reach the walls we get our first look at the Taj Mahal in the distance. It is quite impressive except that everything is “smoggy” maybe from the fires burning nearby? Or maybe just in general, most major cities that we have visited in India have a smog problem.
Next is Shah Jahani Mahal a transitional palace situated between the white marble Khas Mahal and the red stone Jahangiri Mahal. It is the earliest attempt of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to convert an existing redstone building in accordance with his taste to white marble.
Close by is the Roshan Ara Pavillion, all white marble, which is very popular due to the nice views of Taj Mahal. There are lots of selfie takers here and we have to make a concerted effort to be able to reach the viewpoint and enjoy the view of the Taj.
Following is Shish Mahal or the Glass Palace situated below the Diwan-i-Khas hall. It was built between 1631-40, perhaps to be used as imperial baths and it was so named because of the extensive use of mirrors in its walls and ceilings set in the plaster. It also overlooks some well maintained gardens that we plan to visit a bit later in the day.
We really like the interior halls and what remains of the mirrors, which is quite a lot in fact. It would have been quite cool to be the Mughal emperor ignoring all the wars, backstabbing, family killing and so on.
Diwan-i-Khas, the Hall of Private Audiences, was used by the emperor for the reception of important guests such as kings, ambassadors and nobles in private and to deal with important affairs of the state. It is obviously quite impressive as befits the ruler of the one of the largest empires of the time.
Near the Hall of Private Audiences is the black Throne of Jahangir overlooking the fields and Taj Mahal. It was built early in the 17th century and then cracked by the Jats during their occupation of Agra in the 18th century.
As we return via a different route we find Diwan-I-Am, the Hall of Public Audiences which was for the general public and is simultaneously both more grandiose and maybe less impressive.
We hope to see one more step well in the interior courtyard but it is closed quite tightly so we follow the perimeter back to the gardens.
We enjoy the gardens and the nice views of the Mirror Palace before walking back to the exit doing some birdwatching along the way, there are mostly just black kites here but still fun. The driver awaits us at the expected place and we continue on to Itmad-ud-Daula, the next stop on our itinerary today.
