Agra Fort

After the visit to Fatehpur Sikri, the day cleared up and Kumar drove Aman and I back into Agra and dropped us off for a visit to the Agra Fort.  As you can see from the pictures, the fog lifted and the day was clear and beautiful  Akbar (same Akbar) started construction on the Agra Fort in 1568 and over the course of a century, some 500 separate buildings were erected in the Fort.

Agra Fort

The Amar Singh Gate

Psyche!  It isn't the actual entrance to the Agra Fort. You have to enter this second gate, which is actually at a different angle.  It is hypothesized that this "dogleg" entrance was designed to confuse invaders and attackers.

As you enter up to the main plateau of the fort, we'll take a counterclockwise tour of the Agra Fort.  Here we have Jehangiri Mahal. Jehangiri was Akbar's son.

What's this big bowl thing here?

Looking inside, you'll see steps.  It was a portable bathtub, called Jenagir's Hauz.

The front facade of Jenigiri Mahal.

The riverside courtyard of Jenagiri Mahal.  To the right, you can look through the windows of the Agra Fort wall and see, in the distance, the Taj Mahal.

Any white marble building in the Agra Fort was constructed by Shah Jahan (of Taj Mahal fame).  He was Akbar's grandson.  This octagonal structure called the Musamman Burj, is the easternmost part of the Agra Fort.  It is also where Akbar was imprisoned by his son and where he, Akbar, spent the last 8 years of his life.

The Diwan-i-Khas (the private audience hall)

The Diwan-i-Khas overlooks this internal courtyard, the Anguri Bagh.  This area was the women's quarter and where the women had their bazaar and could do their shopping.

The women's mosque.

Moving counterclockwise, now we are standing in the largest courtyard of the Agra Fort.  This is the Diwan-i-Am, the public audience hall.

This is the gate through which we exit the main courtyards of the Agra Fort and go down the ramp to the main gates.