Agra Fort

In Agra we also visited the Agra fort which was the stronghold of the Mughal emperors and their main state building. The emperor lived here with his harem, and the court ministers, army, and other officials lived inside the fort's walls. In some ways, the fort was very similar to european forts, but in some ways it was also very different. Its size was incredible. Surrounded by two moats (one for water, another for wild animals), and encompassing some ridiculous amount of acreage (over 100 I think), the fort is built of red sandstone. It was attacked many times but never taken. The entry to the fort is planned like a snake to prevent the use of battering ram's. The ramp leading up to the level of the ground inside is sloped upwards so it is always an uphill climb to get there, and the rain spouts have channels in the walls of the approach which did double-duty as channels for hot oil when the fort was attacked. This is like stuff out of a fairy tale. Way cool...

This is me, Joe, and Hannah on the path leading into the fort. You can see the drawbridge & gate behind us. The bridge goes over the moat.
This is a view of the water moat.
Ramp leading into the fort proper. You can see the drains/hot oil channels on the sides of the ramparts.
Our guide Ranna explains about the hollow walls replacing microphones in the audience hall.

This is a picture of the audience hall where the emperor would address visitors and audiences. The walls of this building were made hollow so that they amplified sound. In the days before microphones, this was a great way to ensure that you got heard (Oetzi says...J you would have had no problem being heard even with solid walls...)

The Harem. Fountain in the foreground.

In the Harem, 300 women lived with the emperor. Only the emperor, eunuchs, and the women were allowed in this area of the fort. There were fountains, gardens, and beautiful buildings there, where they would relax and be comfortable. Interestingly, when Shah Jahan's son imprisoned him, this is where he was kept. I can imagine much worse places to be in prison... Here is a picture of Shah Jahan's prison cell balcony:

From this balcony, he could view the Taj Mahal. In fact, he was imprisoned before it was complete, so he spent the last years of his life observing its progress from this balcony...

After visiting the Harem, we saw the old part of the fort which has hindu sculpture and imagery, which includes likenesses of animals and people. This is where Hindu ladies lived.