United States or Latvia ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Shah Jahan erected the Jami Masjid mosque at Delhi, and the costly Muti Masjid mosque in Agra Fort, as well as the splendid Khas Mahal, the Diwan-i-ain, and the Diwan-i-khas, likewise in the fort but more satisfying art is represented in the Taj than in all the other structures of his reign.
On the side opposite to the throne-room is an open terrace, originally roofed over and connected with the Dîwan-i-khas. This also was dismantled by the Jâts. THE NAJINA MASJID. On the left of the throne-room, at the end of the corridor, is a door leading into a small mosque of white marble, built by Aurangzîb for the ladies of the zenana.
This is another Hall of Audience, the Diwan-i-Khas, more beautiful than the first. It is of white marble, which, in this clear atmosphere, remains white, and it is richly ornamented with gilt.
The richest and the loveliest of the rooms in the palace is the Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience, which is built entirely of marble and originally had a silver ceiling. The walls were once covered with gold, and in the center stood the famous peacock throne.
The mausoleum was commenced in 1622 and completed in 1628. As a composition it may lack inspiration, but it is exceedingly elegant, and scholarly like the Lord High Treasurer himself. In construction it marks the transition from the style of Akbar to that of Shah Jahan; from the Jahangiri Mahal to the Dîwan-i-khas, the Mûti Masjid, and the Taj.
JAHANGIR'S THRONE. On the terrace in front of the Dîwan-i-khas are placed two thrones, one of white marble on the side facing the Machhi-Bhawan, and the other of black slate on the river side. From the Persian inscription which runs round the four sides of the black throne we learn that it was made in 1603 for Jahangir.
The designer has naïvely translated into marble the conventional Indian flower-beds, just as they were in every palace garden, but there is perfect art in the seeming absence of all artifice. The dados outside the Taj are similar in design to these, though larger and correspondingly bolder in style. The roof of the Dîwan-i-khas, with its fine covered ceiling, is interesting for its construction.
There were still more costly adjuncts, but these details must suffice; it is needless to add that the loss of the throne was considered a national calamity. A gate on one side of this hall led to the inner court of the palace, and to the Hall of Private Audience, or Diwan-i-Khas, which is among the most graceful assembly rooms in the world.
The impious chief was shortly afterwards assassinated in the palace. THE BATHS. On the side of the terrace directly opposite to the Dîwan-i-khas are the baths, or the Hammam. The water was brought up from a well, outside the walls, 70 feet below. These baths, in their present state, are by no means so fine as those at Fatehpur Sikri, to be described hereafter.
THE ANKH-MICHAULI. Close by the Dîwan-i-Khâs, on the west side, is a building which the native guides, always ready to amuse the innocent tourist, describe as the Ankh-Michauli, or "Blind-man's Buff House." There is a legend that Akbar here played hide-and-seek with the ladies of the zanana.
Word Of The Day