Historical Buildings To Visit In Agra

On hearing the name of Agra, the picture of Taj Mahal starts coming to mind. Agra has many historical buildings besides the Taj Mahal, which are very beautiful. The Red Fort of Agra is one of those historic buildings. It is one of the finest specimens of Indo-Islamic architecture. You will know about the special things related to the Taj Mahal of Agra, today we are going to tell you about some special things related to the Red Fort of Agra

Agra Fort is surrounded by historical buildings

Agra Fort is surrounded by many large historical buildings. Many big historical buildings like Jahangir Mahal, Khas Mahal, Musamman Burj, Sheesh Mahal, Nagina Mosque are in this fort.

# Jahangir's Hauz – This is a monolithic tank, and was built by Jahangir. The tank was initially used for bathing. It is now a part of Akbar’s Bengali Mahal.

# Shahjahani Mahal – The Shahjahani Mahal is probably one of the earliest attempts of Emperor Shah Jahan to turn a red sandstone palace into a palace of white marble.

# Babur’s Baoli (step well) – Babur built a stone step well which took care of the water needs in the ancient fort of Agra. This was probably one of the earliest modifications made to the fort.

# Nagina Masjid – Nagina Masjid is a mosque which was built by Shah Jahan. The mosque was built using white marble only and was considered a private place of worship.

# Diwan-I-Am (Hall of Public Audience) – This hall was built by Shah Jahan. Interestingly, the hall was first built using red sandstone but was later shell-plastered, giving it a look of white marble.

# Ghaznin Gate – The Ghaznin gate actually belongs to the tomb of Mahmud of Ghazni, one of the rulers of the Ghaznavid Empire. The gate was moved into the fort by the British for political reasons.

# Bengali Mahal –This palace was built by Akbar and was later modified by Shah Jahan. An interesting aspect of this palace is it is said to be housing secret buildings hidden underneath the palace.

• Akbar’s Mahal – The ruins of Akbar’s famous palace still remains in the fort. Akbar breathed his last in this very palace. The entire palace was built using red sandstone.

Delhi and Lahore Gate

This fort has two gates.The first gate is known as Delhi Gate and the second gate is known as Lahore Gate. Lahore Gate is also known as Amar Singh Gate. It is believed that Amar Singh was a courtier in Shah Jahan's court, in whose honor this gate was built.

The Secret Within

Agra Fort has many secret subterranean apartments and edifices. It is said that the entire fort is interconnected through tunnels and other underground pathways. According to historians, the emperors who owned the fort during their respective reigns are said to have contributed to the secret tunnels for obvious reasons. One such known tunnel is located near the Water Gate, connecting the fort to the banks of river Yamuna.