From the Taj Mahal, we hopped in a horse-drawn carriage bound for the Agra Fort. Though not at the same caliber as the Taj, this fortification is also beautiful and worthy of a visit. Throughout the fort, we found exquisite examples of stone inlay work, stone carving, and the most spectacular stone screens. Also, there are spectacular views of the queen’s tomb from several places along the visiting route to the fort.
A Palace Fort
The Agra Fort was occupied by the Sultan of Delhi starting in the 1400s. A hundred years later, Akbar the Great built the red sandstone, Mughal-style fort was built at the site of an existing four-hundred-year-old brick fort. Over the next few hundred years, as Agra served as a second capital, the fort was added to and altered for various monarchs and their courts including harems.
As much a walled city as a fort, it was built with defense in mind. The entrance, moats, walls, and more speak to this. And, today, part of the fort is still used as a military compound. But that military might didn’t trump the use of fine details and artistic sensibilities to make it fit for a royal family.
All about the Details
I love that the Agra Fort was/is a military fortification with exquisite beauty in the details that were just as thought out as its defense. The details in the carved stone as well as the stone inlay speak to the finest palaces, not forts, found around the world. My favorite details though are the stone lattice windows. Taking marble and carving into something so light and airy with such intricate geometric patterns is a true art. I never tired of looking at the various patterns in all of the forts across India we visited.
