Where in the world are the Patnodes??: Agra Fort

If you were to list the surviving structures, that had a profound role in shaping the history of India , probably Agra Fort tops the list. In other words , if you make a who is who of the Mughal Emperors, more than half a dozen Emperors - Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb - lived in the Agra Fort.
The Agra Fort is not a mausoleum. It is a completely different feeling than exploring the Taj Mahal. It was a strong hold , the administrative headquarters, the royal palace , the court , and even a bazaar .... all boiled into one giant imperial ball. It gives a close view as to how the Mughals lived, what their living rooms looked like, how magnificent their private gardens and mosques were. Walking around Agra Fort is like visiting the private homes and courts of the bygone emperors. And it is very easy to get the feel of their daily life in the grand and ordinary corridors of their living quarters.

Built originally prior to 1500 as a brick military fort, it received a major face lift in 1565, when Akbar commissioned a project which took 4,000 workers 8 years to complete. By 1573, the Agra Fort had been transformed into a majestic red sandstone structure - with 70 foot high outer walls, 2 moats (one wet moat filled with crocodiles, and one dry moat filled with lions, tiger and leopards), an enormous drawbridge and zig zag corridors with portholes to spew hot oil on invaders! Akbar's son, Jehangir, ruled the empire next - followed by his son, Shah Jahan (who built the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife, Mumtaz) and finally, Aurangzeb, who took over power from his father Shah Jahan and placed him under house arrest in the fort until his death in 1666. Each ruler added his own flare to the fort.

It is amazing how the red sandstone has maintained it's color through all of these centuries. This fort was built, of course, long before anything but hand tools were available. So each piece of sandstone was chiseled perfectly and then interlocked, one piece at a time. No cement or mortar... just interlocking pieces - imagine that? 2.5 kilometers in circumference... that is a LOT of sandstone!

Within the walls of the fort, the common areas and living quarters flow into one another seamlessly. Many areas have a great view of the majestic Taj Mahal.

The attention to detail and the symmetry everywhere is startling. In the main palace area the marble is all inlaid with semi-precious stones. The small decorative cavities you see all over the walls are to hold candles. Don't forget... it would be hundreds of years before electricity was invented!!

This kid asked to take a picture with Pat and was so surprised when Pat picked him up!!!

This is beautiful example of the Persian style gardens the Mughals were fond of. On three sides of the garden are arched chambers each with a panoramic view of the garden. These are the storied rooms where the ladies of the royal family lived. Once the garden had the best grapevines known. Now the garden is planted with green and red creepers alternatively giving it an amazing geometric pattern of its jigsaw like features.