The Red Fort, Agra, India

Yesterday, November 3, 2018 we toured the Agra Fort in Agra, India. I really enjoyed the stories of the different living quarters for the rulers´ three different wives, each from a different religion. The bath tub was for Jahangir (one of the wives of Shah Jahan, a Mugal Emperor), and the bath was placed in the middle of beautiful gardens. When it was time for her bath, the tub was filled with rose petals and rose water, then all palace employees were sent out of the courtyard area while she had her private bath. Each of the three wives had their own separate palace within the fort. My favorite part was called the guest house, and has the white marble with inlaid precious and semiprecious jewels. The floral patterns are so intricate. The view of the Taj Mahal from this part of the palace is spectacular. Here is a bit of history borrowed from our tour brochure. I also loved the description of the double walls around the palace, with two moats. The first moat had water filled with crocodiles and the second contained tigers and lions. When I saw the walls, I could imagine how it would have appeared to an invading army, and it looked impassable and so indestructible. Quite an amazing piece of architecture indeed. -Mona

Agra Fort was originally a brick fort and the Chauhan Rajputs held it. It was mentioned for the first time in 1080 AD when a Ghaznavide force captured it. Sikandar Lodi (1487-1517) was the first Sultan of Delhi who shifted to Agra and lived in the fort. He governed the country from here and Agra assumed the importance of the second capital. He died in the fort in 1517 and his son, Ibrahim Lodi, held it for nine years until he was defeated and killed at Panipat in 1526. He built several palaces, wells and a mosque in the fort during his period. A medieval city on the banks of the Yamuna River. It was founded by Sultan Sikandar Lodi in the year 1506. Agra achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1526 to 1658 and remains a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings.

I loved going to the Red Fort it was amazing and so huge. The Red Fort took 10 years to build the construction started in 1638 and ended in 1648. The Red Fort was also originally white made from limestone, when the limestone started chipping off the British painted it red. The shape of the Red Fort is octagonal. The British took many valuable things from the Red Fort and our tour guide says that they refused to give any of the things they took back. At the Red Fort there is a tomb of a British Lieutenant of the Red Fort named John Russel Calvin. The Red Fort is a very beautiful place and is a World Heritage Site, no wonder why.

-Angelina