Domes of Nagina Masjid mosque, probably used privately by Shah Jahan

Unidentified cloister somewhere in the vicinity of the dot on the map

Mughal palace architecture reached its peak with the construction of the Red Fort at Agra. Built over many centuries under different regimes, it is the product of many different architects who each worked on only a small portion of the whole. To our eyes, this gives the Red Fort a rather eclectic feel that is unified only by the ubiquitious red sandstone that gives the fortress its name.
The Red Fort began its life in the 10th century as a simple mud and brick fortress along the banks of the Yamuna river. Under Akbar (1564-1570s) of the Mughal dynasty it was rebuilt along the lines of its predecessor, which accounts for its irregular outer walls. Originally intended as a fortress, the site was partially converted into a palace during the reign of Shah Jahan, who lived in the fortress and died there - a prisoner of his own son.
The residential and defensive portions of the fortress can be described separately. The outer walls, built during Akbar's time, are penetrated by two gates, called the Amar Singh and the Delhi gate respectively. The Delhi gate, to the west, was originally the main entrance although the southern gate, the Amar Singh, is used today. Both gates are sheathed in red sandstone and consist of an enormous facade flanked by twin towers. Entry is on the diagonal, and to foil invaders, visitors were originally forced to negotiate several right-angled turns before reaching the gate.
The interior of the fortress is largely empty but for a row of residential dwellings facing the river. Built during Shah Jahan's time and after, these luxurious structures drew the resources of an entire empire and were worked on by craftsman of many different nationalities. The earliest of these dwellings, the Jahangiri Mahal, was built by Akbar as a women's quarters. It is predominantly Hindu in character and was probably inspired by the Gwalior Man Mandir, a palace built earlier in the century.
The Jehangir palace was also built by Akbar, for his favorite son.

View to the north from the tower

Muthammam-Burj tower, where Shah Jahan spent the last 3 years of his life - prisoner of his own son.

Khas-mahal palace and the Anguri Bagh gardens, layed out during the reign of Shah Jahan

The eastern ramparts of the fort.

Distant view of the Taj Mahal from the east courtyard of the Jahangiri palace.

Fountain in the east courtyard overlooking the river

Courtyard of Jahangiri Mahal

Jahangiri Mahal palace.

Jahangiri Mahal palace, built by Akbar for his favorite son.

The Amar Singh gate

The Badshawi Darwaza gate.

Fatehpur Sikri, the "City of Victory", sits 35 kilometers from Agra on a low hill of the Vindhya mountain range. Before the reign of Akbar (1556-1605), the Mughal King who built Fatehpur Sikri, the site of the future city had already earned an auspicious reputation. Babar, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty and Akbar's grandfather, had won a battle here over Rana Sanga of Mewar. In gratitude he named the area Shukri, which means "thanks". In Akbar's time the site was occupied by a small village of stonecutters and was the home of Shaikh Salim Chishti, a Muslim astrologer and Sufi Saint. In 1568 Akbar visited the Shaikh to ask for the birth of an heir. The Shaikh replied that an heir would be born soon. Sure enough, Akbar's wife gave birth to a boy on August 30, 1569. In gratitude, Akbar named the boy Salim after the astrologer, and, two years later decided to move the capital to Sikri.
Of course, the decision to build a new capital at Sikri was determined by more than sentiment. It was a strategic location in Rajasthan that put Akbar and his armies closer to the Gujarat region--the next object of Akbar's expansionist dreams. Gujarat was desirable because its coastal cities were ideally suited to take advantage of the lucrative trade to Arab lands.
Construction of the new capital began in earnest in 1571 and continued for about fifteen years. During much of this time Akbar made the area his home, but strangely, in 1586, Akbar abandoned his new capital forever. The reasons are not entirely clear, but the most plausible explanation is that Akbar needed to move his base of operations to wage the war against Kabul, which he occupied in 1585, and Kandahar, which fell in 1595.
After Akbar's departure the city was used only sparingly in the coming centuries. In the early 17th century it became the home of several queen mothers. In 1619 Emperor Jahangir camped here for three months while a plague raged in nearby Agra. Ninety years later, the city was refurbished to host the coronation of Muhammad Shah (1709-48). After that, the city was largely abandoned until Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India for the British from 1898 to 1905, sponspored an archaeological survey and restoration efforts.
In present times the city has become one of the chief tourist attractions of India. However, it is impossible to capture in pictures a single iconic image of the city, in the way that the Taj Mahal can be framed in its totality in the viewfinder of any camera. Fatehpur Sikri is so large and decentralized that the city can only be experienced as a series of changing surroundings as one travels from courtyard to courtyard. There are no broad boulevards or landmark buildings that can be constantly kept in view when experiencing the city. At Fatehpur Sikri, there are very few buildings that can be seen from all four sides in isolation--among them the Diwan-i-Khas and the Sonakra Makan. Most buildings are fused together in such a way that there are a multitude of routes to reach any point. It is almost if the figure-ground of a modern city is reversed: open spaces are non-continuous islands in a network of buildings that flow together like streets.

The Badshawi Darwaza gate, which faces east.

The tomb of Islam Khan, adjacent to Salim Chishti's tomb.

At left is part of the facade of the tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti, for whom the mosque was built..

Inner face of the north gate.

One of several mihrab (niches) that face toward Mecca.