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Agra is globally renowned as the city of the Taj Mahal. But this royal Mughal city has, in addition to the legendary Taj, many monuments that
epitomize the high point of Mughal architecture. In the Mughal period, in the 16th and 17th centuries, Agra was the capital of India. It was here that the founder of the dynasty, Babar, laid out the first formal Persian garden on the banks of the river Yamuna. Here, Akbar, his grandson raised the towering ramparts of the great Red Fort. Within its walls, Jehangir built rose-red palaces, courts and gardens, and Shahajahan embellished it with marble mosques, palaces and pavilions of gem-inlaid white marble.
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The crowning glory of the city is obviously the Taj, a monument of love and imagination, that represents India to the world and is the undisputed numero uno amongst the
"Seven wonders of the world".
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Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a tear on the face of eternity - as described by the famous Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore and symbolizes eternal love frozen in white marble. It stands serene and awesome, on a raised marble platform, by the banks of the Yamuna, testifying to the timelessness of art and love. Its pure white marble shimmers silver in the soft moonlight, exudes a shell - pink glow at dawn, and at the close of the day, takes on the tawny, fiery hue of the majestic sun. Shahjahan built the monument in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the 'lady of the Taj', who died giving birth to their 14th child. It has been called the most extravagant monument ever built for the sake of love.
The Taj complex took 22 years and 20,000 workforce, including specialized craftsmen, to build. This white marble wonder is extraordinarily luminescent and even on the dull days one can find it glowing. De facto the Taj is believed to change its glow depending on the intensity and direction of the sunrays falling on it.
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Agra Fort
Among the other monuments that Agra takes pride in, built by three of the greatest Mughal emperors. The construction of this massive structure began in 1565, under Akbar, and continued till the time of his grandson, Shahjahan. The Diwan - i - Am, the Diwan - i - Khas, the Khas Mahal, the Palace of Mirrors, the Pearl mosque, the Nagina Masjid, the Garden of Grapes, and the Fish Pavilion are the other monuments in the fort complex.
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Itmad-ud-daulah tomb
stands in the centre of a grand Persian garden, an architectural gem of its times. It is the tomb of Mirza Ghiyas Beg, Emperor Jehangir's wazir, or Chief Minister, and also his father - in- law. This splendid garden tomb is believed to be the precursor of the magnificent Taj Mahal, and was the first Mughal structure to be built entirely of marble, and the first, again, to make use of pietra dura, the inlay marble work that came to be typical of the Taj.
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Sikandra
High battlement walls pierced on each side by four gateways built of red sandstone enclose Sikandra - the mausoleum of Akbar, placed at the center of a huge garden. Crowning each corner of the gateway are four marble minarets. The burial chamber is reached by a corridor, which leads deep into the heart of the building.
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Mathura
57 kms north of Agra lies the birth place of the Hindu epic hero and one of the nine avtaars (impersonifications) of God as per Hindu beliefs, Lord Krishna. Situated on the right bank of Yamuna river, Mathura is one of the seven holy cities of Hindus. Coincidentally it is also an important center for Buddhist art. Here the marble galleries adjoining the ghats are actually a study in elegance. Mathura boasts a museum which has an excellent collection of sculptures -dating from 5th century BC to 1200 AD, terra-cotta and inscriptions.
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