Agra Fortress

An ornately decorated fountain in the palace of Agra fortress.

Sarah feeding a chipmunk.

This deserted temple (I'm assuming that's what it is) was on the banks of the river that flows past the Taj Mahal and Agra fortress.

Agra fortress- home of Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal- seems impregnable when viewed from the outside. Once you have passed through the two outer gates, you enter the fortress... almost. After passing underneath the arch of the second gate, you find yourself standing on a ramp, or dug-in road. It slopes sharply upwards, leveling out with the ground at the top of a hill. The purpose of this ramp is that, even after a invading army has taken the second gate, rocks and tree trunks can be rolled down onto them as they enter the fort. Standing at the bottom of the intrenched ramp and imagining that rocks are being rolled down at you is not a very pleasant feeling. Once at the top of the ramp, you find yourself in a garden, with the palace in front of you. Sarah was given some seeds from a kind, old Indian man to feed the chipmunks that live in the garden. Once they got used to her, one of them actually ate out of her hand. Our Indian guide, whom my dad hired to show us around the fort, showed us the palace now. Just the grandeur and immensity of the place was amazing. The .Taj Mahal was visible from the emperor's chamber, so that he could view his wife's resting place from his balcony. Many cannons are visible on the wall of the fortress. Beyond the walls, two moats are visible. The guide told us that these were supposedly filled with wild animals. One was a dry moat, and inhabited by tigers, the other was once upon a time filled with water, and home to crocodiles. I enjoyed seeing Agra fortress, and I think it gave me a good introduction to Indian fortresses.

The gate of Agra fortress, notice how even the walls and towers are ornately decorated.

Me and my siblings in Agra fortress, the Taj Mahal is visible behind us.