Mughal architecture in India

Northern India’s cities are awash with architectural achievements although the disparity between palatial grandeur and surrounding city streets can often be quite galling. This is a region where the British Raj made the most of maharajahs and royal rulers, and where the might of the Mughal Empire, under emperors such as Akbar the Great in the 16th century, is still evident today.

Nowhere is this power better exhibited than in the mosques, mansions and monuments to be found across Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Famed for multicoloured fortifications and magnificent marble mausoleums, these neighbouring states hold some of the greatest examples of Mughal architecture anywhere is Asia. Holidays here reveal the similarities and styles synonymous with Islamic art and architecture as well as discovering thrilling tales of incarceration, rivalry and concubines.

It’s the blend of Indian, Islamic and Persian elements that makes Mughal architecture so unique. Typical features include huge, onion-shaped domes crowning commemorative monuments, with smaller domed buildings and minarets standing symmetrically on either side. There are impressive entrances and gateways, within tall turreted walls, and water features and quadrilateral gardens.

White marble, red sandstone and, less commonly, limestone, are typical construction materials as well as semi-precious stones and coloured marble which are inlaid as decorations. Understated lattice work appears throughout as well as verses from the Qu’ran inscribed on interior and exterior walls in Persian and Arabic. Royal palaces are often surrounded by symmetrical gardens featuring walkways and water channels. These stand in contrast to the stark courtyards within the mosques, which can hold enormous congregations.