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Agra lies on the banks of the Yamuna River in India. This medieval city was found by Sultan Sikandar Lodi in the year 1506 and had achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1526 to 1658. It is a major tourist destination today and tourists from all over India and the world come here to admire the fascinating architectures here. Some of the splendid Mughal era buildings include Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri , all three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Jahangir Mahal is the most important building of the Akbari period in the Agra Fort. The Agra Fort is a great monument built of red sandstone which dominated a bend on the river Yamuna. The Fort lies about 2kms of the Taj Mahal and was constructed by the Mughals during 1565-1571. The foundation stone of this majestic citadel was laid by Akbar in 1565 and was ready by 1571 during the reign of Shahjahan, Akbar's grandson. The Fort has a number of historic sites and the Musamman Burj is one of them.There are two splendid mosques and palaces built by two generations of creative builders during the time of Akbar and later Jehangir and Shahjahan. Musamman Burj, Agra lies to the left of the Khas Mahal within the Agra Fort. It is an octagonal tower. And has an open pavilion which was built by Shahjahan for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. The Musamman Burj is made of delicate marble lattices with ornamental niches so that the ladies of the court could gaze out unseen. The chamber has a marble dome on top and is surrounded by a verandah with a beautiful carved fountain in the center. The tower looks out over the River Yamuna and is traditionally considered to have one of the most poignant views of the Taj Mahal. It is here that Shah jahan had spent his last few years as a captive of his son Aurangzeb. He lay here on his death bed while gazing at the Taj Mahal.
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