Places to visit in Agra, Tourist destination sightseeing
Agra is the city of the inimitable Taj Mahal. The story of Agra Begins much earlier that the Taj, however it finds mention in the epic Mahabharata when it was called Agrabana or paradise. Ptolemy, the famous 2nd century AD geographer, marked it on his map of the world as Agra.
Tradition and legend ascribe the present city to Raja Badal Singh(around 1457 AD) whose fort, Badalgarh, stood on near the site of the present fort.However the 12th century AD Persian poet Salman, too,speaks of a desperate assault on the fortress of Agra, then held by one King Jaipal, by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni.
It was the Mughals who finally nutured Agra with the finest monuments architect could design: the Taj Mahal of Shah Jahan,Red Fort of Akbar, Itmam-ud-daulah and neighbouring Sikandrabad are few of many that spangle the city’s grandeur over the ages.
Agra, an educational and business centre too, is known for its craftsmen and handicrafts. Marble and soft stone inlay work, zari work, carpet and leather goods are some important traditional crafts of the city.
Agra’s several places of interest may be conveniently visited in the following travel sequence. Two days are required for complete sightseeing.
Tourist places to visit in Agra, India : –
Taj Mahal
Completed in 1653 ,the Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his favourite Queen ,Mumtaj. Finished in white marble, it is perhaps ,India’s most fascinating and beautiful monument. This perfectly symmetrical monument took 22 years (1630-52) of hard labour and 20,000 workers, masons and jewellery to build and is set amidst landscaped gardens. Built by the Persian architect, Ustad Isa, the Taj mahal, on the banks of the Yamuna river, can be observed like a mirage from the Agra Fort from where Emperor Shah Jahan stared at it, for the last eight years of his life as a prisoner of his son and usurper of the empire, Auranzgeb. It is a masterpiece of symmetry, seeming to be floating in the air from a distance, and is revealed as an illusion experienced as one enters through the main gate.
The verses of the holy Koran are inscribed on it and atop the gate are 22 small domes, signifying the number of years the monument took to build.The Taj has been built on a marble platform that stands above a sandstone one.The most elegant dome of the Taj, with a diameter of 60 ft., rises 80 ft, over the building and directly under the dome is the tomb of Mumtaj Mahal.Shah Jahan’s tomb has been erected next to her’s by his son, Aurangzeb. Fantastic inlay works using semi-precious stones decorate the interiors. Taj Mahal pulls huge national and international tourist to Agra. Top in the list of tourist places to visit in Agra, India.
Timing :sunrise to 1930 hours.
Agra Fort
An imposing fort an the banks of the river Yamuna, it was designed and built by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar ,in 1565 AD. It has numerous palaces and houses the beautiful Pearl Mosque. Top in the list of tourist places to visit in Agra, India.
Timing :sunrise to sunset
Itmad-ud-Daulah’s Tomb
6 km. An impressive tomb built by Empress Nur Jahan between 1622 and 1628 AD in memory of her father Ghias-ud-Din Beg. This exquisite marble structure is a forerunner to the Taj Mahal.
Timing: sunrise to sunset
Chini-ka-Roza
9 km. This tomb in glazed tiles, halfway between RamBagh and Itmad-ud-Daulah’s tomb, is a memorial to Allama Afzel Khal Mullah Shukrullah of Shiraz, a well known poet-scholar who took employment with Emperor Jehangir in 1617 and later became the prime minister under emperor Shah Jahan. He died in Lahore in 1639 and his body was brought to Agra for burial.
Timing : sunrise to sunset
Ram Bagh
10 km. The earliest example of a Mughal garden , it was laid out by Emperor Badar in 1526 AD.
Timing: sunrise to sunset
Radhasoami Samadhi
8 km. Headquarters of the Radhasoami religion, here the holy ashes of the founder of the faith have been preserved. Also a place where daily congregational service or satsang is held.
Timing:0800-1700 hrs.
Sikandra
12 km.Begum by Emperor Akbar and completed by his son Jehangir in 1613 AD, Akbar’s tomb in Sikandra is a fusion of Hindu and Muslim art and architecture which, like the Emperor himself, characterised the era. Top in the list of tourist places to visit in Agra, India.
Open: sunrise to sunset
Jama Masjid
Built by Jahanara Begum in 1648 AD, the squat domes with their zig-zag pattern of red and white, and the absence of minarets, make it different from other mosque.
Mariam’s Tomb
13 km.On the Delhi- Agra National Highway No.2 Mariyan-us-Zamani (mar-on-the-age) was the Rajput wife of Emperor Akbar. The tomb built in 1611 AD, is of red sandstone and lies in the centre of a garden. Its carving on red sandstone are particularly noteworthy.
Timing : sunrise to sunset
GARDENS AND PARKS
Shah Jahan Gardens and Rosery
On the approach road to the Taj Mahal ,the gardens also form the green buffer for the monument.
Moti Lal Nehru Park
On the approach road to the Taj Mahal.
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