The mighty Taj Mahal. An emotional moment for me as I never thought I would stand in front of the Taj Mahal. Still to this day, I don't believe I was there. It was a dream come true.
There are two things to really see in Agra. The Taj Mahal and the Agra fort. There is also the mini Taj, but I only saw this from a distance and really didn't intrigue me from a photographic point of view. The history of the Agra fort and how it ties back to the Taj Mahal is very interesting. We had a guide to tell us all the history.
The present-day structure was built by the Mughals, though a fort had stood there since at least the 11th century. Agra Fort was originally a brick fort, held by the Hindu Sikarwar Rajputs. Through a series of battles by Hindus and Mughals the fort finally came under control of Akbar. Realizing the importance of its central situation, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558.1
It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site took on its current state. Legend has it that Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble, often inlaid with gold or semi-precious gems.2 There is a story that in one area he built for his two daughters he made one part marble and one part the red sandstone. Can you guess which one he loved more?
At the end of his life, Shah Jahan was deposed and restrained by his son, Aurangzeb, in the fort. It is rumoured that Shah Jahan died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony with a view of the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal is actually a red brick building just like the Agra Fort. Then marble is placed on top. The red brick is a stronger structure than buidling it in just marble. The cost of this building is why Shah Jahan's son took over the reign. He disliked that his father spent so much on the Taj, that he commanded that his father should no longer rule and placed his father in custody within the fort for several years.
https://visualtribe.com/agra-the-taj#sigProIdf76b4beede
1, 2 Excerpts from Wikipedia
