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Agra
located on the western bank of Yamuna River, is one
of the most frequented cities by tourists in India.
Agra was founded by Badal Shah in 1475, but it came
into prominence when the Lodhis made it their
capital. Later, with Mughals invasion into the city,
Agra entered an entirely new era - an era which was
marked by prosperity and development of art and
architecture. The Mughal period was a time when
numerous structures were erected in Agra, and even
today these structures reflect the glorious heritage
of the great Mughal rulers.
Besides, Agra today is one of the most flourishing
industrial cities of Uttar Pradesh India. Housing
several industrial sector, Agra is not very far
behind the major metros of India.
Taj Mahal, the pinnacle of Mughal architecture, was
built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan,
grandson of Akbar the great, in the memory of his
queen Arjumand Bano Begum, entitled ‘Mumtaz Mahal’.
The mausoleum is located on the right bank of the
river Yamuna at a point where it takes a sharp turn
and flows eastwards.
In
1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage
Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in
India and one of the universally admired
masterpieces of the world's heritage."
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Agra
fort is one of the most important and robustly built
stronghold of the Mughals, embellished with number
of richly decorated buildings encompassing the
imposing Mughal style of art and architecture. It
was constructed by the third Mughal emperor Akbar on
the remains of an ancient site known as Badalgarh.
The fort, semi-circular on plan, is surrounded by a
21.4 m high fortification wall. Double ramparts have
been provided here with broad massive circular
bastions at regular intervals. There are four gates
on its four sides, one of the gates was called
“khizri-gate” (the water gate) which opens to the
river front, where ghats (quays) were provided .The
fort has survived through the onslaught of time,
nature and men. The fort spreads over an area of
about 94 acres of land. At present, there exist more
than two dozens of monuments in the Fort.
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