The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.
Agra is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about 230 kilometres (140 mi) south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the fourth-most populous city in Uttar Pradesh and twenty-third most populous city in India.
The Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra, also known as Agra's Red Fort. Mughal emperor Humayun was crowned at this fort in 1530. It was later renovated by the Mughal emperor Akbar from 1565 and the present-day structure was completed in 1573. It served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal dynasty until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. It was also known as the "Lal-Qila" or "Qila-i-Akbari". Before being captured by the British, the last Indian rulers to have occupied it were the Marathas. In 1983, the Agra fort was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its importance during Mughal rule. It is about 2.5 kilometers (1.6 mi) northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled city. It was later renovated by Shah Jahan.
The Deccan Odyssey is an Indian luxury train modeled on the Palace on Wheels luxury train and put into service to boost tourism on the Maharashtra route of the Indian Railways. The train, owned by travel company Cox & Kings since 2014, takes visitors on a variety of seven night, eight day trips across Maharashtra.
Tundla is a town and a municipal board in Firozabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an important railway junction between the Delhi-Kanpur main line and the Agra branch line. Tundla is a railway town that sprang up when the railway was built in the late 1800s. It is served by Tundla Junction railway station. As of 2011, Tundla has a population of 50,423 people, in 8,744 households.
India's golden triangle is a tourist circuit in India that connects the national capital, New Delhi, with Agra and Jaipur. Tourists' trips usually start in Delhi and move south to the site of the Taj Mahal at Agra, then west, to Jaipur. The trip can be undertaken by road, train or plane. The Golden Triangle is now a well-traveled route, providing a good spectrum of the country's different landscapes. The circuit is about 720 km by road. Each leg is about 4 to 6 hours of driving. The Shatabdi Express, Vande Bharat Express, and Gatimaan Express trains also connect New Delhi with Agra and Jaipur.
The Culture of Uttar Pradesh is an Indian culture which has its roots in Hindi, Bhojpuri and Urdu literature, music, fine arts, drama and cinema. Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, has historical monuments including Bara Imambara and Chhota Imambara, and has preserved the damaged complex of the Oudh-period British Resident's quarters, which are being restored.
Agra Fort railway station, is located near Agra Fort, in Rawatpara, Agra. It used to be one of the stations in India that had both broad gauge and metre gauge, until the line to Jaipur was converted to broad gauge. Agra Fort railway station comes under the North Central Railways.
Agra Cantt is the main railway station in the Indian city of Agra. It is located near the Sadar Bazaar towards the southwest of the city. It lies on the main Delhi–Chennai and one of the Delhi–Mumbai lines.
Sadar Bazaar is a popular shopping destination for tourists visiting Agra. It is located close to Agra Cantonment railway station and is in proximity to the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.
The Jama Mosque is a 17th-century congregational mosque located in the historic core of Agra, Uttar Pradesh. It was built by Jahanara Begum, the eldest daughter of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, during the latter's reign. It is the principal mosque in the city of Agra, and lies close to Agra Fort.
Idgah railway station is in Idgah colony in the southwest of the city of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Idgah railway station serves around 75,000 passengers every day.
The Taj Express was started in 1964 to serve tourists traveling from Delhi to Agra. It reduced the traveling time from over three hours to around two and a half hours. Taj Express was started along the lines of Deccan Queen- which ran as a high-speed commuter-special train between Pune Junction and CSMT Mumbai – and provided a quick and comfortable journey between Agra and Delhi. It was a very popular train especially among foreign tourists, before the Bhopal Shatabdi was introduced in 1988. The train was later extended up to Gwalior in 1985 and then to Jhansi in 2006. It was named after Taj Mahal.
The Maharajas' Express is a luxury tourist train owned and operated by The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). It serves four routes across North-West and Central India, mainly centered on Rajasthan between the months of October and April.
Jhansi Junction railway station is a major railway junction in the city of Jhansi in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the busiest and largest railway stations in India. It hosts various trains of Indian Railways like the Gatimaan Express, which is the fastest train of India, as well as others like Bundelkhand Express. It is a major halt for various important trains of Indian Railways like five sets of Rajdhani Express bound for Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad etc. One set of Bhopal Shatabdi Express, three Duronto Express trains, Punjab Mail one of the oldest running trains in India, Kerala Express, Karnataka Express, etc.
The architecture of Uttar Pradesh demonstrates a diverse and eclectic combination of Buddhist, Hindu, Indo-Islamic, and Indo-European architectural styles. Three of its architectural monuments—the Taj Mahal, the Agra Fort, as well as the township of Fatehpur Sikri founded by the Mughal emperor Akbar—are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The architectural structures in Uttar Pradesh include ancient Buddhist stūpas and vihāras, ancient Buddhist and Hindu monasteries, townships, forts, palaces, temples, mosques, mausoleums, memorials, and other community structures. Uttar Pradesh's architectural structures also include various Hindu temples, Ghats, etc. largely found in ancient cities like Benares (Varanasi), Brindaban (Vrindavan), Mathura, and Prayagraj (Allahabad).
Raja ki Mandi railway station is on the Agra–Delhi chord. It is located in Agra district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It serves Raja ki Mandi and surrounding neighbourhoods in Agra.
Yamuna Bridge railway station is on the Tundla–Agra branch line. It is located in Agra district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It serves Etmaddoula and surrounding neighbourhoods in Agra.
Persian Inscriptions on Indian Monuments is a book written in Persian by Dr Ali Asghar Hekmat E Shirazi and published in 1956 and 1958 and 2013. New edition contains the Persian texts of more than 200 epigraphical inscriptions found on historical monuments in India, many of which are currently listed as national heritage sites or registered as UNESCO world heritage, published in Persian; an English edition is also being printed.
The Agra Metro is a rapid transit system in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The metro is owned and operated by the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC). It is set to consist of two metro lines, with a total length of 29.65 kilometres (18.42 mi) and 27 stations. The Agra Metro is one of four rapid transit system in Uttar Pradesh, the others being the Lucknow Metro, Meerut Metro, Kanpur Metro, and Noida Metro.
