Agra Fort is one of the most impressive Mughal-era buildings and certainly worth visiting when you are in Agra. It was constructed by Emperor Akbar in 1565 and is surrounded by 20m high walls 2.5 kms in circumference. Explore the areas where the Mughal Emperors conducted their daily business, along with the Gem Mosque, Ladies Bazaar, Shish (Mirror) Mahal and Khas Mahal where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb overlooking the Taj Mahal which he built as a mausolean to his late wife, Mumtaz Mahal. See the Anguri Bagh, where Akbar kept his 500-strong harem and Jahangir’s Palace.
The Itmad-ud-Daulah, or Baby Taj, was built between 1622 and 1628 and was a pre-cursor to the Taj Mahal. It is a mausoleum for Mirza Ghiyas Beg, who was the father of Nur Jehan, Jehangir’s wife and means ‘Pillar of the State’. For the first time, they based the construction of white marble rather than sandstone (as you will see in many of the Mughal buildings in Delhi).