The Tour of the Golden Triangle Day Two

In the morning we were taken by coach to visit the Agra Fort/ Palaces This was a fascinating place, on the outside the walls are intimidating, enormously thick and built in red sand stone. The fort is crescent shaped, flattened on the east with a long nearly straight wall facing the river Yamuna. It's total perimeter is 2.4 km, a deep moat surrounds the outer walls. The construction of the Agra Fort started around 1565 the initial structures were by the third Moghul Emperor Akbar and worked both as a military strategic point as well as the royal residence. Most of the buildings within the Agra Fort are a mixture of different styles which has given the buildings within the fort a distinctive look, a lot of the interior palaces were replaced or added to in white marble by his son Emperor Jehangir and continued by his Grand Son Emperor Shah Jahan. (who built the Taj Mahal which could be seen from the palaces in the fort.

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In the afternoon we visited the tomb of Akbar the third emperor of the Mughal dynasty. In 1556, at the age of 14, he was crowned the Mughal ruler following the sudden death of his father Humayun.

Before his death in 1605, Akbar started building the magnificent edifice at Sikandra, which was later completed by his son Jahangir. The tomb, as it stands today, is in a large walled garden. The tomb is entered through an elegant gateway, which leads into the huge enclosed garden. This magnificent gateway is covered with floral decoration in white and colored marble and is crowned with four elegant minarets in white marble. The emperor's tomb is predominately red sandstone, five tiered structure, stacked like a castle of playing cards. Akbar’s actual grave lies in the basement. Akbars son Jahangir completed the structure. The absence of the crowning dome remains a mystery.

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From there we were driven to the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah which at firstglance resembled a jewel box set in a small tranquil garden, on the banks of the Yamuna river. It is the first tomb in India built entirely in white marble and is reputed to have inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal. The tomb is also justly famous for the glorious pietra dura (stone inlay) decoration depicting cypresses, wine glasses, and an amazing variety of geometrical arabesque. The jali screens set in arched recesses are splendid. Four small minarets rise at the four corners of the small tomb structure. The whole structure gives the impression of an enlarged precious object.

The story of Itimud-ud-Daulah his wife and family are the stuff that fairy tales are made of. Mirza Ghiyas-ud-din or Ghiyas Beg (later known as Itmad-ud-Daulah) was a poor merchant and lived in Persia. While on his way to India for business, his wife gave birth to a baby girl. As the family was extremely poor and had nothing to eat, the parents decided to abandon the child. However, the wails of the baby girl forced the parents to turn back and take her with them. This brought a stroke of good luck to her parents, for Ghiyas Beg found a caravan that straightaway took him to the court of the great Mughal Emperor, Akbar. In the course of time, Ghiyas Beg rose to become a minister and a trusted treasurer in Akbar’s court. After Akbar’s death in 1605, his son Jahangir became the Mughal emperor, who made Ghiyas Beg his chief minister or Wazir. Ghiyas Beg was also honored with the title of Itmad-ud-Daulah or the pillar of the state.

The story gets even better. Ghiyas Beg’s daughter grew up to be a beautiful lady and came to be known as Mehr-un-Nissa or the sun of womankind. In the course of time, the fame of her beauty spread. She was soon married, but it wasn't long before she became a widow. She returned to the court of Jahangir where her father was still employed. Emperor Jahangir fell in love with her and married her. She soon became a powerful personality in Jahangir’s court and was called Nur Mahal, the light of the palace, and Nur Jahan, light of the world. When Ghiyas Beg (Itmad-ud-Daulah) died in 1622, Nur Jahan undertook the project to build his mausoleum. Later she built the tomb of her husband (in a similar style) in Lahore.

Nur Jahan had a brother whose daughter was married to Jahangir’s son, Shah Jahan. She was known as Mumtaz Mahal in whose memory Shah Jahan built the world famous Taj Mahal.

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