Agra Red Fort exterior
This is a view of the exterior of the Red Fort in Agra, begun by Akbar, a Mogul emperor, and finished in the mid-1600's, a hundred years after it was started, during the last period of Mogul kingdoms in the area. It is a mile-and-a-half in circumference, and the walls are made of red sandstone. The Mogul warlords who ruled this area, including the period when the Taj Mahal was built, came though this area for hundreds of years, conquering and setting up kingdoms. As is evidenced by this building and the Taj Mahal, this was not simply a destructive process, but one where high expressions of culture and beauty took place. It was very sobering to be here during the precise period when Americans were fighting in Afghanistan, knowing the utter devastation that country has dealt with for decades.
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