Agra is situated in the State of Uttar Pradesh, India.Agra is famous for handicrafts products such as Inley work on Marvel, Leather work, Footwear, Brasswear, Carpets, Jwellery, Zari and Embroidery work. It is also well known for Petha, Dalmoth and Gajak.
Agra is famous as being home to one of the seven wonders of the world-the Taj Mahal. The architectural splendour of the mausoleums, the fort and the palaces is a vivid remainder of the mausoleums, the fort and the palaces is a vivid reminder of the capital in the 16th and early 17th centuries.
While its significance as a political centre ended with the transfer of the capital to Delhi in 1634 by Shah Jahan, its architectural wealth has secured its place on the international map.
A pleasant town with comparatively slow pace, Agra is known for its superb inlay work on marble and soastone by craftsman who are descendant of those who worked under the Mughals. The city is also famous for its carpets, gold thread embroidery and leather shoes.
Agra was once the capital of the Mughal empire and even today it seems to linger in the past . Not surprising , for the Mughal emperors with their passion for building, endowed the city with some of the finest structures in the world . It is very easy to slip away here through the centuries into the grandeur and intrigues of the Mughal court .
Agra is an old city and it is said that its name was derived from Agrabana, a forest that finds mention in the epic Mahabharata.
In more recent times Agra came into prominence when Sikandar Lodi made it his capital city in 1501 . The Lodi rule was to end very soon and Agra passed into the possession of the Mughals .
Agra continued to retain its importance and Shah Jehan, Akbar's garndson ornamented the city with that masterpiece of Mughal architecture - the Taj Mahal and built several other beautiful buildings within the Agra fort .
How to Reach Agra
By Air
Indian airlines connects Agra to Delhi, Khajuraho and Varanasi. Kheria Airport is about 9 km. from Govt. of India Tourist Office
By Rail
Agra is a major railway junction on main broad guage routes to the south, east and west. Two of the best trains viz. Shatabdi Express (between Delhi and Bhopal) and Taj Express (between Delhi and Gwalior) are available to access agra. Some other train servicing the city are : G.T. Express (New Delhi to Chennai), Dadar Express (Mumbai to Amritsar), Jhelum Express (Jammu to Pune), Kalinga Utkal Express (New Delhi to Puri), Karnataka Express (New Delhi to Trivendrum), Ujjani Express (Dehradoon to Ujjain) and Hyderabad Express (New Delhi to Hyderabad).
By Road
Agra, on cross roads of national highways 2, 3 and 11, is excellently connected to all parts of the country. Some important road distances from Agra are: Bharatpur-54 km., Delhi-204 km., Gwalior-119 km., Jaipur-232 km., Khajuraho-400 km., Lucknow-369 km., Mathura-450 km., Nainital-353 km., Varanasi-605 km. and Mussorie-417 km.
Places of Interest in Agra
Taj Mahal
The construction of this marble masterpiece is credited to the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who erected this mausoleum in memory of his beloved wife, Arjumand Bano Begum, popularly known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in AH 1040 (AD 1630). Her last wish to her husband was "to build a tomb in her memory such as the world had never seen before".
Thus emperor Shah Jahan set about building this fairytale like marvel. The construction of Taj Mahal was started in AD 1632 and completed at the end of 1648 AD. For seventeen years, twenty thousand workmen are said to be employed on it daily, for their accommodation a small town, named after the deceased empress-'Mumtazabad, now known as Taj Ganj, was built adjacent to it.
Sheer poetry in marble. Majesty and magnificence, unrivalled. The Taj Mahal, the one and only one of its kind across the world. The monumental labour of love of a great ruler for his beloved queen. The ultimate realisation of Emperor Shahjahan's dream. One of the wonders of the world. From 1631 A.D., it took 22 years in the making. An estimated 20,000 people worked to complete the enchanting mausoleum, on the banks of the Yamuna. For a breathtaking beautiful view of the Taj Mahal, see it by moonlight.
Amanat Khan Shirazi was the calligrapher of Taj Mahal, his name occurs at the end of an inscription on one of the gates of the Taj. Poet Ghyasuddin had designed the verses on the tombstone, while Ismail Khan Afridi of Turkey was the dome maker. Muhammad Hanif was the superintendent of Masons.
The designer of Taj Mahal was Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The material was brought in from all over India and central Asia and it took a fleet of 1000 elephants to transport it to the site. The central dome is 187 feet high at the centre. Red sandstone was brought from Fatehpur Sikri, Jasper from Punjab, Jade and Crystal from China, Turquoise from Tibet, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire from Sri Lanka, Coal and Cornelian from Arabia and diamonds from Panna. In all 28 kind of rare, semi precious and precious stones were used for inlay work in the Taj Mahal. The chief building material, the white marble was brought from the quarries of Makrana, in distt. Nagaur, Rajasthan.
Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri is an epic in red sandstone. A city of yeasteryear, today lost in the mists of time. Fatehpur Sikri was built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar during 1564 A.D.. Mughal Emperor Akbar had no heir. He visited holy men to enlist their prayers for his son.
Sikandra Fort
The mausolumn of emperor Akbar represent his philosphy and secular outlook, combining the best of Hindu and Muslim architectures in a superlative region. Completed in 1613 A.D. by his son Jahangir, it is one of the well preserved monuments. This is the last resting place of the Mughal Empror Akbar.
Agra Fort
The great Mughal Emperor Akbar commissioned the construction of the Agra Fort in 1565 A.D., although additions were made till the time of his grandson Shah Jahan.
Itmad-Ud-Daulah
Itmad-ud-Daulah is the tomb of Mirza Ghyas Beg, a persian who had obtained service in Akbar Court. The Marvel tomb was made by Emperor Jehangir's Queen, Noorjahan, for his father Mirza Ghyas Beg during 1622-1628 A.D.
The Craftmanship at Itmad-ud-Daulah foreshadows that of the Taj Mahal. It was here that. "Pietra Dura"-the inlay work on marble-so characteristic of the Taj-was first used
Radha Swami Samadhi
This is the head quarter of Radhaswami religion, here the holy ashes of the founder of the faith have been preserved. On the sprawing lawns here, is a beautiful marvel temple with beautiful carving of fruits, flowers, leavesand plants which have been reduced into stone true to nature, and are distinctive speciments of the plastic arts. This is under construction for almost 100 years.
Taj Mahotsav
Come
February, and it's springtime. The time of the year when nature
dawns all its colourful splendour and Agra bursts into colourful
celebrations. For 10 days there is sheer celebration of U.P.'s rich
heritage of arts, crafts, culture, cuisine, dance and music. Yes, it
is Taj Mahotsav time again. There are festivities all around and
Agra truly puts on the colours of joy and gets transformed into one
non-stop carnival. Organised by U.P. Tourism and held as an annual
event at Shilpgram, literally next door to the Taj Mahal, the Taj
Mahotsav is indeed a fitting tribute to the legendary skills of
mastercraftsman and other exponents of art, music and cuisine. Not
only this, it is also a gentle peep into the rich heritage and
extraordinary legacies of this wounderful land. The festivities
commence with a spectacular procession inspired by mughal splendour.
Bedecked elephanbts and camels, drum beaters, folk artistes and
mastercraftsmen... all help recreate a visual delight reminiscent of
the golden era of the Mughal Darbars.
