"Agra" Agra by PeterVancouver

Ideal location for visiting the Red Fort and Taj which are about 15 minutes drive away. Great views of both places from certain rooms on 5th and 6th Floor of this hotel

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal stands in the city of Agra, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on the banks of the Yamuna River. It was built in the memory of the beautiful Arjumand Bano Begum, who won the heart of a Mughal prince. She was married at 21 to Emperor Jahangir’s third son Prince Khurram and stayed loyally by his side through good times and bad: in the luxurious royal palaces of Agra as well as the transient tents of war camps. In AD 1628, Khurram became king after a bloody battle of succession: he took the name Shahjahan or “King of the World” and showered his beloved begum with the highest titles. She became Mumtaz Mahal, the exalted of the palace and Mumtaz-ul-Zamani, the exalted of the Age. But Mumtaz Mahal was not destined to be queen for long. In 1631, Shahjahan went on an expedition to the south and, as always, Mumtaz Mahal accompanied him. But she died in childbirth at Burhanpur. She had borne Shahjahan fourteen children, of whom four sons and three daughters survived. As she lay on her death bed it is said that she whispered to him to build for her a monument that would symbolize the beauty of their love, When Mumtaz Mahal died, she was just 39 years old. Shahjahan was inconsolable and contemporary chronicles tell of the royal court mourning for two years. there was no music, no feasting, and no celebration of any kind. Construction of the Taj began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years at a cost of 32 million Rupees which was a fortune in those days. Twenty thousand people were deployed to work on it. Its central dome is fifty-eight feet in diameter and rises to a height of 213 feet. It is flanked by four subsidiary domed chambers. The four graceful, slender minarets are 162.5 feet each. The entire mausoleum (inside as well as outside) is decorated with inlaid design of flowers and calligraphy using precious gems such as agate and jasper. The main archways, chiseled with passages from the Holy Qur’an and the bold scroll work of flowery pattern, give a captivating charm to its beauty. The central domed chamber and four adjoining chambers include many walls and panels of Islamic decoration. It is said that once the project was finished, he ordered that the hands of a number of the mastercraftsmen be cut off to ensure the building could not be reprocated.

Red Fort

The fort stretches almost 2.5 kms alongside the Yamuna river. It is enclosed by a wall built in red sandstone and has several buildings inside. Though the fort has two gates- the Delhi Gate and the Amar Singh Gate- access can be gained only via the Amar Singh Gate. The entire fort is not opened to tourists, for part of it is nowadays used by the Indian Army. But still it has enough to give an insight into the 16th century Mughal lifestyle. It was the very place where Emperor Shahjahan was confined till death by his son Aurangzeb. Shahjahan is said to have died in the Musamman Burj, a tower with a beautiful marble balcony, which provides the most captivating views of the Taj.

• Pros:Arrive prior to dawn
• In a nutshell:The Taj in particular is fabulous