AGRA

Agra, the City of the Taj, lies 204 kms by road from Delhi and came into historical importance when the early Moghul Emperors made it their capital and constructed a huge fort. Sikander Lodi had earlier made Agra the seat of his Government and called it Sikandra. The Lodi city has crumbled down but the Great Moghul Akbar lies buried there in a mausoleum of red sandstone lie the desolate ruins of Fatehpur Sikri which Akbar built in 1569 as a token of thanksgiving on the birth of his son. The city was abandoned soon due to water shortage but here Akbar used to play chess with slave girls as pawns.

One of the wonders to be seen in Agra is the serene resting place of Itmad-ud-Daulah, with whose daughter Mehr-un-Nissa Emperor Jahangir fell in love. He married her and renamed her Nur Jehan (Light of the World). Nur Jehan built the mausoleum in her father's memory and the craftsmen introduced a progusion of chikanwork and experimented with a special type of inlay which was later used in the Taj Mahal. Akbar's grandson, Shah Jehan, a great lover of beauty, built the Taj Mahal between 1630 and 1652 in pure white marble as an immortal tribute to love, in memory of his queen Mumtaz Mahal. After more than three centuries. the Raj, unlike many of its European contemporaries, looks almost new and shining. While one must visit the Taj in daytime and admire the intricate inlay work, the most memorable view of it is on a full moon night with no clouds to dull the lustre of the glow of marble in the golden light. Inside Agra fort is the remarkable Moti Masjid (the largest pure marble mosque in the world). There is also an exotic bathroom with a wall of mirros.