Not very distant from Delhi, Agra can be visited in a (long) day trip, if you start very early. You can go there by car (with a driver, don’t try to drive yourself in India) or by bus, depending on your budget.
Sikandar Lodi transferred the capital from Delhi to Agra. Two great Mughal monarchs, Akbar and Shah Jahan, transformed the little village of Agra into the second capital of the Mughal Empire. The Mughal emperors created an incredible court, which was famous throughout the world. It fascinated the Europeans, especially the British, Portuguese and Dutch, even more so after Shah Jahan started the construction of the Taj Mahal.
Today when you visit Agra you find a city of edifices of red sandstone and white marble and that irresistible charm that this favorite city of the Mughals still retains.
On my most recent trip I stayed in the ITC Mughal, which has very good restaurants, a good spa, two pools (the one near the spa is more peaceful and pleasant), and a very efficient butler service. The cost of the hotel was quite reasonable. The Oberoi is excellent, located in front of the Taj Mahal, and is very expensive.
Taj Mahal
Of course, the first thing to visit is the famous Taj Mahal (UNESCO World Heritage site). The time you visit the monument is important. Avoid going around lunch time, since the light is not the best. The perfect times to go are close to sunrise and/or sunset. Even seeing the monument for the second or third time the experience is still very moving.
The white Indian marble of the building is very striking. It came from Makrana, near Jaipur. The marble is inlaid with beautiful designs made from precious and semi-precious stones from different places: the agatha from Yemen, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan and jade from China.
The Mughals perfected the art of carving and inlay with precious and semi-precious stones. During your stay in Agra you could visit one of the several places where they show you how this very precise, beautiful work is done, for instance at the Subhash Emporium (18/1, Gwalior Road, Opp BSNL office, Shahzadi Mandi, Agra). You can take home some piece if you wish. You will find lots of shops that sell the carved marble in front of the entrance to the Taj Mahal. By the way don’t forget to bargain!!! Always bargain in India, if the shop doesn’t display fixed prices.
Some of the artisans are the descendants of the artisans that originally worked on the Taj Mahal and have passed down the art from one generation to the other! This is the same as in Varanasi with the silk weaving and in Jaipur with the painters of incredible miniatures, done with beautiful pigment colours and painted with feathers, as in the past.
The Hindu merchants provided the Islamic artists the marble, the stones, coral, etc. Often, they chose the design as well. The craftsmen sketched out the design on the marble, cut the holes to the size of the stone in which they put in it, to follow the pattern. Then the stones were chosen, cut and stuck in the holes that had been prepared in the marble. They were finished in a colourful pattern and then sanded. Imagine the work to adapt and cut every single stone for the design. Today you can find beautiful tables with exquisite designs. My friend Mimmo, during his stay in Kolkata, designed and had 2 beautiful table tops made. Today more than 5,000 inlayers work in Agra, in many family workshops.
A lot of monuments and palaces in India are decorated with this work. What is sad however is that over the years people removed the stones that are worth virtually nothing and destroyed such beautiful pieces of art. Fortunately, today you cannot get very close to the walls so what is left is protected.
While you walk in the gardens of the Taj Mahal you can see the brightness of the marble, in contrast of the green of the trees and the grass. This purely white Indian marble is unique in that it doesn’t absorb anything, unlike the beautiful Italian marble from Carrara, that gets dirty. The white marble reflects the nuances of the changing light from the sun, however at certain times of day you cannot appreciate this detail. The reflection of the Taj Mahal in the fountains and canals of the garden is truly wonderful.
Sit and enjoy the peace that represents this monument while you are there. I think that everybody has dream to visit the beautiful Taj Mahal at least once. Take pictures where Lady Diana took hers. If there are lots of people at the site (and there generally are), there can be queues to take pictures from the same spot. Do not take with you anything except cameras, because for security reasons it is forbidden to take many items in (including books). This will delay and complicate your entrance to the site. You are not allowed to take in video cameras after the main entrance. You have to leave them in the deposit. Go early to avoid queues.
The Taj Mahal was described by poet Rabindranath Tagore as a “Teardrop on the cheek of eternity”.
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum and a symbol of the enduring love of Emperor Shah Jahan for his favourite wife, Muntaz Mahal, who died during childbirth in June of 1631. She had 14 children with him and 2 miscarriages and died during delivering another baby. She was his wife, companion and adviser for 17 years. The legend states that she bound him with two deathbed promises: to build her the most beautiful tomb ever known and not to remarry. He didn’t remarry, but did have a big harem.
He also had two other wives during the time he was married to Muntaz, for political alliances, however didn’t have any children with them. It is said that 20,000 carvers, masons and artists from across India and far as Turkey and Iraq were employed under a team of architects to build the Taj Mahal in the lush gardens on the banks of Agra’s Yamuna River. It took them from 1631 to 1648 to complete the epic task. Imagine moving all that marble, sandstone and other materials at that time! In front of the basement there is a fence that marks the place that Muntaz was buried during the construction of the mausoleum. On the left is a mosque.
The mausoleum is an important place for Indians to go to in pilgrimage since the Empress died in childbirth, making her a martyr. Imagine giving birth to all those children!
This funerary monument is not only a symbol of paradise, also the King’s gardens are an oasis in the heat of the dessert. The area is terribly hot in summer, so try to avoid going then. During one of my trips (in May) we went to visit the Agra fort at around lunch time. It was so hot that Maria, my Greek friend, showered herself by continuously emptying bottles of mineral water on her head. It was like Dante’s inferno!!
On another occasion I was in India around the end of April and I went to a spa in Delhi. I left the hotel in a nice, cool air-conditioned taxi. After I finished the treatment, who knows why, I decided to take a tuc-tuc to go back to the hotel. Soon after the start of the journey, in the middle of some part of Delhi, where I couldn’t get out, because I would never find a taxi, the heat started to hit me. It was around 46 or 47 degrees centigrade. The driver had on several layers of clothes and was listening to Hindu prayers while he was driving. During the ride he put on even more layers! And like my great grandfather used to say, what keeps out the cold keeps out heat. Je…je…but maybe it works. I arrived back to the freshness of the hotel like it was an oasis in the middle of the desert.
Is important to think ahead when you are traveling, to avoid getting into trouble. I can put up with the heat, but many people can get dehydrated and faint. Don’t forget that with the heat you have always to drink a lot of water to cool down and keep your body hydrated.
Don’t miss the sunset, the Taj Mahal looks beautiful! A good time to visit is in February, spring time! Don’t go out without mosquito repellent. It is a good idea to spray yourself every morning before going out. Avoid problems!
The Agra Fort
The Agra Fort (UNESCO Heritage site) is well worth a visit. When the Mughal Emperor Akbar established his supremacy in the Northern India he began his first architectural venture, rebuilding the Agra Fort as a beautiful fort-palace. The work, which took a long time, was completed by his son and grandson. It highlighted the Mughal’s ability of blending decorative and defensive architecture, with an excellent result and balance. Their palaces and buildings were richly decorated with marble and mosaics. The Mughals brought splendour to Indian architecture. This splendour that we can still enjoy today when we visit India.
This fort was one of the most beautiful fluvial forts in all India, on the banks of the Yumana river. It was protected by 2 walls around it. At that time they were attacked quite often. The fort was there to protect the people of the Court, treasures, the army and citizens living in the fort. The fort was designed to resist fierce attacks and long sieges. Today the Indian army still uses most of the fort as a base.
The construction is architecturally very interesting, look all the details, walk through the Amar Singh door, that was constructed in a right-angle so as to stop elephants from charging at the doors. You may notice a lot of very large nails in the top parts of the main doors of Indian palaces. This was to stop the elephant attacks.
In the gardens on the right as you enter you will find a big stone bath tub. They say that was a wedding present from Jahangir to Nur Jahan around 1611. Apparently the rose petals that perfumed the water gave the inspiration to create a perfume that you can still today find in the bazaars.
Visit the Palaces of Akbar and Jahangir in the fort. Akbar’s rooms were constructed by local artisans in Hindu style. In the central Court Akbar used to watch elephant fights. Other rooms are completely different than the previous Hindu style. They were constructed by Shah Jahan with elegant proportions, not as big as the previous ones, in sandstone and marble. Here he lived with his beloved wife Muntaz Mahal when he was not at war. After the death of his wife, he went to Delhi.
The emperor was deposed by his third son Aurangzeb in 1658. He was kept as a prisoner in this fort and cared for by his daughter Jahanara for 8 years until he died in 1666. In his private quarters, where he was confined, he had a magical view of the Taj Mahal, across the river Yamuna (which you still see today).
Visit the private area of the emperor, the Musamman Burj, all with inlay of beautiful precious stones that was constructed for Mumtaz. The Diwan-i-Khas room for private audiences is the most elegant of all of them.
Walk around the fort and try to imagine how it was during those times, particularly during festivities. Picture the incredible outfits and fabrics they were dressed in. Fascinating!
This is a country that encourages your imagination!
After the Mughals moved to Delhi, Agra was occupied by the Jat first, then by Maratha and in 1803 by the British. Very sadly they destroyed several buildings in the fort to construct barracks for their soldiers and representatives to be safe and protected in the inside of the fort. However, during their time in Agra they built nice bungalows, public buildings and wide avenues.
Take a walking tour of the Old city, beginning at the Agra Fort railway station, which reflects the influence of colonial architecture of the era when the British began transforming Agra from an imperial city to an industrial one. Along Mall Road and Taj road you can see the central post office, the Queen Mary library, Saint George’s Cathedral and Havelock Memorial Church. In this area you can find some good restaurants, where you can try Mughal cuisine.
The town is a very chaotic and full of traffic. It is nice to visit the bazaar on a tuc tuc, that can stop if you see something that interests you in a shop! I did this and found some beautiful fabrics. Every area of India has different and beautiful prints, great to take back home.
You will also see the ornamental and decorated facades of houses at Namak Ki Mandi. You can see craftsmen beating metal to extract the gold and the silver used in Ayurvedic medicines. And you can end walking in the impressive Jama Masjid Mosque, which leads to the 16th century stone paved streets of the Kinari Bazaar. Following the narrow lanes where you will pass shops selling items used in decorating the images of gods and goddesses. You can also have the opportunity to see the famous and complex Zardosi work, an art of embroidery. The craft was undertaken for the Emperor Akbar and flourished under his patronage during Mughal times. This intricate work still continues in the narrow alleys of the old city and you can choose to visit some of the workshops. As I told you before the craftsmen’s families pass their art from one generation to the other, keeping this magnificent craftsmanship alive today and hopefully for years to come. In Europe we are losing artisans as time passes, a real pity.
Tomb of Itmad
Visit also the Tomb of Itmad. It has a special place in the chronicles of both history and architecture. This tomb was the first in India that was entirely made from marble. It overlooks the River Yumana and is the tomb of Mirza Ghiyas Beg.
After Aukbar’s death in 1605 his son Jahangir become the Mughal Emperor and made Ghiyas Beg his Chief Minister. Jahangir fell in love with his incredibly beautiful daughter and married her. She was later christened Nur Jahan and went down in history as one of the most beautiful and artistically gifted women in the world. She was very smart and ambitious. She ordered the construction of the tomb after the death of her father in 1622.
Shopping experience
In April 1998 I went to India together with some friends. During our stay in Agra, after the afternoon tour, the 3 girls went to a local market. Imagine a rural market in India 20 years ago: the market was more like a tent encampment on a dusty road. We visited some fabric stores. The sun was already going down. The 3 of us were together inside a tent when the lights went out. In that moment I crossed over to the shop in front, while Maria and Anabella where still in the first shop. I stood still where I was and after some minutes the lights came back on. When the girls realized that I was not there anymore they were very worried about what had happened to me. That I was there with them before the light went off and I was no longer there. Anabella started to panic, afraid that something had happened to me. When she saw me coming back to the shop, after the light returned she was very relieved. I am always quick at checking merchandise and I keep on going. The market was really basic and you never know what happens. Anyway, everything was alright.
But my advice is that when you go to places that are basic, keep together all the time, especially if you are ladies out together! This is much safer!
After that episode we returned to the hotel, where we had been invited to a cocktail party. However, I was not really interested in it, especially since I had seen 2 or 3 shops in the neighborhood of the hotel that I hadn’t visited yet. And they looked interesting! The girls went back to the hotel to get changed and I kept on going, as usual. In the last shop, I found some very nice ceramic door knobs (that I still have in a draw at home).
When I went to pay I saw a big chair, like a throne, laminated in silver, that I really liked. It was love at first sight. I told the person sitting on it, who was the owner of the shop that I would give him 100 dollars if he would wrap and deliver the chair to my hotel between 7.00 and 7.30, because my husbanito would have been in the cocktail party and would not have seen the bulky chair arrive! And once it was there he would not make me send it back or try to dissuade me from buying it. Ja…ja…. You can imagine his face when he saw the throne in the entrance of the room!!
We were traveling with British Airways, one of my favourite Airlines, because it gives us a big luggage allowance. Plus good and safe service of course.
Arriving to the airport we checked in the throne, surprisingly they did not object. I guess the Executive Club gold card helped. I am not sure that we would get away with it today. We hid the considerable amount of hand luggage that we had behind a column, saying that we didn’t have any! Anabella was looking after it.
Maria as usual was so over weight that she was charged with excess. We were very lucky that the throne went through without paying any extra. Also my friend Justin was with us and give me part of his luggage allowance. Today my throne is sitting very happily at home, after all these years. I think that until today that was the largest piece of luggage that I have ever taken on a flight. Once with my friend Carola we bought between us 4 chairs that were big, but they folded! I like challenges, especially with luggage, which means that I have been successful shopping!