FORTS AND PALACES

Purana Quila or Old fort, was built by the great Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri, in the 16th century A.D. It is situated in Delhi.
The structure houses a mosque, which has a double-storeyed octagonal tower. Recent excavations at the fort site have yielded painted grey ware pottery, which dates back to 1000 B.C. The walls of the fort are 18 meters high at some points and there are groups of holes arranged in patterns on the walls, which were apparently meant to be nesting spaces for birds.
Inside the fort is the Kuhna Masjid built by Sher Shah in 1541 and is considered to be a masterpiece of architecture. The inner west wall of the building has five arched openings, which are richly ornamented in white and black marble. On a marble slab inside the mosque is an inscription which when translated reads: ' as long as there are people on this earth, may this edifice be frequented and people be cheerful and happy in it'.
Out of the three gigantic entrance gateways (Humayun Darwaza, Talaqi Darwaza and Bara Darwaza) that Purana Qila had, only one remains open now, the Bara Darwaza. The central section of the mosque made up of white marble and bright red sandstone gives it a real touch of class.

Built principally as a military establishment by Akbar in 1565, the red sandstone Agra fort was partially converted into a palace during Shah Jahan's time. Though the principal structure was built by Akbar, many more additions were made by his grandsons. This massive fort is 2.5 kms long and is considered as the predecessor of the Delhi Red fort. The colossal walls are 20 feet high and the whole fort is encircled by a fetid moat. Amar Singh gate towards the south is the only entry point in the fort. The building and structures inside the fort gives an impression of a city within the city. Many of the buildings inside the fort are now closed for the public. The marble pearl mosque inside the fort is one of the most stunningly beautiful mosques in India. The monuments insided the fort are described below in detail.
Diwan-e-Am
This structure was originally made out of wood but was later constructed in the present form by Shah Jahan. The throne room bears a clear influence of Shah Jahan style with the inlaid carvings and panels of marble with floral motifs. This hall of public hearing is the place where the Emperor heard the petitions of the public and met the officials. The hall of public hearing gives way to the Nagina Mosque and the Ladies bazar where only ladies merchants were allowed to sell items to the Moghal ladies.
Diwan-e-Khas
This was the hall of private audience. Shah Jahan added this hall. This hall is divided into two rooms connected by three arches and it was here that the famous peacock throne was kept before being shifted to Delhi by Aurangzeb and finally carried away to Iran.
Moti Masjid
Moti Masjid is situated to the right of Diwan-E-Aam of the Agra Fort. One can see the domes of the Moti Masjid, which is the prettiest of all the buildings at Agra Fort. Moti Masjid is a white marble structure built by Shahjahan for his family members and court chiefs. Moti Masjid made out of white marble is one of the ancient mosques situated in Agra. It used to shine like a pearl once upon a time and hence the name.
Sheesh Mahal
Opposite to the Mussaman Burj and just below the Diwan-E- Khas hall is the Sheesh Mahal or the glass palace. It is believed to to have been the harem dressing room and its walls are inlaid with tiny mirrors, which are the best specimens of glass mosaic decoration in India.
Jahangiri Mahal
This is the first notable building inside the Agra Fort. It was built by Akbar as women's quarters and is the only building that survives among his original palace buildings. It is built of stone and is simply decorated in the exterior. This elegant, double storeyed building reflects a strong hindu influence with protruding balconies and domed chhatris.
Golden Pavilions
The curved chala roofs of the small pavilions by the Khaas Mahal are based on the roof shape of Bengali village huts constructed out of curved bamboo, designed to keep off heavy rains. The shape was first expressed in stone by the sultans of Bengal. These pavilions are tradtionally associated with shahjahan's daughters: Roshnara and Jahannara Begum.
Musamman Burj
On the left of the Khaas Mahal is the Musamman Burj. It is a beautiful octagonal tower with an open pavilion. With its openness, elevation and the benefit of cool evening breezees flowing in off the Yamuna River, this could be well have been used also as the emperor's bedroom. This is where Shah Jahan lay on his deathbed, gazing at Taj Mahal.

From Amber, their former capital, the Kachhwaha of Rajputs of Rajasthan moved to Jaipur. The City Palace is the core of the royal residences in Jaipur. Each new Maharaja made his own additions to Sawai Jai Singh's original city palace.
In the heart of the old city of Jaipur, the City Palace occupies a large area, divided into a series of courtyards, gardens, and buildings. The carved arches are supported by grey-white marble columns ornate with floral motifs in gold and colored stones. Two carved elephants in marble guard the entrance. The outer wall was built by Maharaja Jai Singh II, but other additions are much more recent, some dating back to the beginning of this century. The palace is a wonderful blend of Rajasthani and Mughal architecture. The centre of the palace, is the Chandra Mahal, private palace of the ruler, which is approached through a number of courtyards. Mubarak Mahal, in the first courtyard, is a guesthouse now used as a textile museum. A magnificent gateway with a grand door in brass is to be crossed to reach the Diwan-I-Khas in a stately courtyard. It is an open hall with a double row of columns with scalloped arches. On display here are two gigantic silver urns used by Madho Singh II to carry water from the holy Ganges on board the ocean liner when he travelled to London in 1902. These are the largest silver vessels in the world - 242.7 kilograms of silver was required to cast each urn, which could contain 8182 gallons of water. These urns figure in the Guinness Book of World Records.At the eastern corner of this courtyard stands the Diwan-I-Aam, now a museum of miniature paintings, palanquins, manuscripts and Persian carpets . At the other corner stands the Ridhi Sidhi Pol, splendid gateway to the Pritam Chowk. Herein four smaller doorways are decorated with motifs depicting the four seasons. Of immense charm is the Peacock door. Chandra Mahal, the main royal residence, is seven storeyed and topped by Mukut Mandir, an elegant pavilion with a curvilinear roof. The various apartments and floors carry their own distinctive style of ornamentation to suit the ruler's taste. Such Niwas and Shobha Niwas are still occupied by the ex-Maharaja. Such Niwas has been painted in Wedgwood blue, ornamented with white lining. Only the ground floor is open to visitors. Through the glass panes you can see the Sri Govinda Temple, the first structure built by Sawai jai Singh in Jaipur. The Chandra Mahal is a fanciful medley of Mughal and Rajput architecture. Opposite the Chandra Mahal lies the Badal Mahal. The Govind Devji Temple stands in the middle of the Chandra Mahal and the Badal Mahal. A delightful system of mountains is placed in the middle of the paved path between the Chandra Mahal and the Badal Mahal. The palace has extensive and sprawling gardens.

City Palace of Udaipur, the majestic white royal building towers itself on a hill and is surrounded by crenellated walls. The palace was completed in its present form by the contribution of many rulers. Originally started by Udai Singh, the later additions were so carefully planned and integrated with the original building that it becomes difficult to believe that the building was not conceived as a whole. The palace stands along the shores of Lake Pichola. Approach to the palace is through the 'Hati Pol' or the 'Elephant Gate'. The 'Bara Pol' or the 'great gate' leads to the first court, which joins Tripolia or the 'triple gate'. Between the two gates are eight carved 'toranas' or arches, which mark the spot where the rulers were weighed against gold or silver, the equivalent value of which was then distributed among the poor. Beyond the Tripolia is the arena where the elephant fights were staged.
The path then leads to a series of courtyards, overlapping pavilions, terraces, corridors and hanging gardens - a harmonious profusion hard to describe.The soft cream coloured central 'Chhatri' has facing of blue coloured tiles with massive octagonal towers crowned with cupolas. The Sheesh Mahal has inlaid mirror work. The Krishna Vilas has a series of miniature paintings, which are witness to the royal processions, festivals and the game of 'Chogan'. The Chini Chitrashala is famous for its Chinese and Dutch tiles, the latter of which has depiction of Biblical scenes including the flight to Egypt. Radha-Krishna stories are painted on the walls of the Bhim Vilas. The glass mosaic gallery with its superb stained glasses and portraits afford a panoramic view of the city below. The Mor Chowk has a brilliant mosaic of peacocks set in the walls showing the three seasons: summer, winter and monsoon. There are exquisite terrace gardens with fountains in the Amar Vilas.There is also a museum in the fort which houses the armour of the valiant Maharana Pratap and the drums & bugles of Rana Sanga, another Mewar ruler.

Golconda Fort is situated on the Western outskirts of Hyderabad 11 kms west of the city. The fort built in the 13th century served the kings as a stronghold, administrative centre and market place.Before the city of Hyderabad was founded the Deccan was ruled from Golconda fort. Founded originally by the Kakatiya's in the 13th century, the fort was taken over by the Bhaamani kings, subsequently passing to the Qutub Shahi Kings. The existing structure was expanded by the Qutub Shahi kings into a massive fort with granite walls and ramparts extending some 5-km in circumference over a period of 62 years.
The Fortress City within the walls was famous for the diamond trade and Ko-hi-noor diamond is said to have come from here. The name originates from the Telugu words "Golla" and "Konda" - 'Shepard's hill'. Famous features of Golconda includes its system of acoustics - a hand clap at a certain point below the dome at the entrance reverberates and can be heard clearly at the Bala Hissar, the highest point almost a kilometer away. Golconda is also known for its Palaces, factories, water supply system and the famous Rahban cannon.

Hawa Mahal is also called the Palace of winds and is situated in the heart of the city. It is a five storey structure and was built Poet-King Sawai Pratap Singh in 1799. It was built to enable the ladies of the royal household to watch the everyday life and processions of the city.
Hawa Mahal is the most strikingly designed monument in Jaipur.Hawa Mahal is the part of the east wall of the City Palace complex. Most well known of Jaipur's buildings, you can have the best views of this great building from the street outside.                

Much of the Jal Mahal Palace (Water Palace) has subsided under the mud and silt of the lake it used to look over. Cattle and water buffalo graze in the paddocks around the former palace on the Amer Road outside Jaipur.
Jal Mahal was built by Sawai Pratap Singh in 1799 AD in the midst of the Man Sagar Lake as a pleasure spot. It is Jaipur's lake palace surrounded with water. It is built for royal duck shooting parties. The Lake was formed by constructing a dam between the two hills by Sawai Man Singh I. During the winter months one can see a large number of migratory birds at the lake.

The most attractive monument in Mysore that strikes the visitor is the Mysore Palace. It was completed in 1911 on the foundations of the old Palace that was destroyed by fire in 1897. The well-known architect Henry Irwin designed it. The palace has now been converted into a museum displaying souvenirs, paintings, jewellery, royal costumes and other items, which were once possessed by the Wodeyars.
The exterior of the Palace has Indo-Saracenic features with a series of domes and arches. The building is 245 feet in length and 156 feet in breadth and the gold-plated dome at the centre is about 145 feet from the ground. This three storeyed structure has beautifully designed square towers at various cardinal points covered by domes, some of them of ochre colour. Many varieties of stones like granite, gneiss and trap of dark grey and ochre colours have been used. Craftsmen from Jaipur and Agra along with local workers were engaged for crafting them.
Exquisitely carved doors open into stunningly luxurious rooms. The front of the palace has an open balcony supported by massive circular columns. The interior of the palace, especially the Durbar Hall is richly decorated. Replete with ornate ceilings, intricately carved massive doors, gleaming floors, frescoes depicting scenes from the epics Ramayana and the Mahabharatha, the entire scene exudes royal splendour.
The frontal open space, which is wide and the open quadrangle in the middle of the building, provides natural air conditioning. Arrangements to keep the various parts of the building cool are contemplated. Domes, parapet balconies, verandahs, minarets, cupolas and arches combine harmoniously to make the building a veritable masterpiece of lasting beauty. To the south of the building is the marriage pavilion or the Kalyana Mantapa with a centre octagonal gabled roof, covered by stained glasses. Tall slender cast iron pillars are arranged in-groups of three at the corners of the central octagon. These iron pillars got wrought at Glasgow in Scotland. The flooring of this magnificent Kalyana Mantapa has artistic geometrical patterns created by using glittering glazed tiles imported from England.

In the medieval times Bidar belonged to the Chalukyan branch who established their capital in 977 A.D. at Kalyani, 57 kms away. Falling to the Yadavas of Devagiri (Daulatabad) and to the Kakatiyas of Warangal in 1322 A.D., Bidar fully rose to prominence under the sultanate regime.
The imposing fort of Bidar is a magnificent fort, the main gateway of which was originally built by Bahamani Sultan Ahmad Shah Wali in 1429 AD. Further improvements to the citadel were carried out by the Barid Shahi Sultans. Ahmad Shah Wali (1422 - 35) the ninth Bahamani Sultan decided to shift his capital from Gulbarga to Bidar for reasons of health.
Palaces, pavilions and seraglios; lush gardens, decorated fountains and perfumed baths have all the trappings of an Arabian Nights fantasy when Bidar was ruled by the Bahamanis and the Barid Shahi Sultans of the Deccan. Sprawled on a plateau 2, 200 feet above sea level and overlooking the Manjira River Valley, cool and exhilarating Bidar was most certainly a part of ancient Vidharba mentioned in the Mahabharata. The fort is surrounded by three miles of walls with 37 bastions, most of them surmounted with cannons. This fort was a source of irritation to the Mughal rulers of Delhi, and was finally conquered by Aurangazeb. The fort now lies in ruins.         

Gingee also pronounced, as "Shingee" is 37-km east of Thiruvannamalai. Gingee is famous for a fort complex dating back to 13th century, located on the 3 different hill summit covering 3-km boundary area. The Chola Dynasty built Gingee fort. The indomitable courage and valour of its erstwhile rulers made Father Pinments, a priest to call the Gingee Fort the "Troy of the East". The Vijayanagar emperors, Marathas and the Mughals occupied it after the Cholas and it was in the hands of the French and British rulers also for sometime. In 1638, Gingee went under control of Bijapur Sultanate from the hold of the Vijayanagar emperors. Then it went to Maratha hero Shivaji in 1677, to Mughal in 1690, to French in 1750 and to British in 1762. Vekataramana Temple is the largest temple in Gingee, which was built by Muthiah Nayaka in 1550 AD.

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