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Agra is one of the most beautiful cities renowned for its monuments, located on the western banks of river Yamuna, in Uttar Pradesh. Mughals' ruling epoch brought large-scale development in Agra. In 16th century, some of the Mughal emperors like Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Babar and Sikandar Lodhi gave several forts and imperial palaces to Agra.
Shah Jahan built white marble monument Taj Mahal with the help of 20,000 workers It was recently reelected as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Carved walls in the forts and palaces reflect the rich heritage of India. Millions of tourists from the world come here to admire and relish the beauty which resides in these monumental edifices.
Apart from the Taj Mahal, tourists appreciate other monuments like Red Fort, located in the city. Tourists can enter in Red Fort only through the giant gate called Amar Singh Gate. Red Fort was built by Mughal emperor Akbar but Jehangir adorned its beauty by developing beautiful gardens.
There are several attractive places in Agra's Red Forts like Diwan-i-Khas, Diwan-i-Aam, Jhehangir's palace, Musamman Burj (octagonal tower in which Shah Jahan spent his last seven years as prisoner), Sheesh Mahal (mirror embedded palace) and Anguri bagh (grapes garden).
Fatehpur Sikri, Sikandra and Itimad-ud-dulha are some other monuments which attract thousands of tourists. Sikandra is located 4 kms from the city, and it is an example of secular philosophy of Akbar. It is a marble tomb of Akbar deliberately designed to display Islamic, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Hindu styles and motifs.
Itmad-ud-dulha's mausoleum located to north of the Agra Fort, was built in the memory of Mirza Ghiyas Beg (Jehangir's Wazir). It is also known as "mini Taj Mahal" because it is as beautiful as Taj Mahal.
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