Find interesting information on gateways and garden of It mad ud Daulah at Agra.

It Mad Ud Daulah Gateways & Garden

One can enter the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulah from the east, which is the only functional gateway of the tomb. The other three gateways built in other directions were constructed only to maintain the symmetry, following the rules of the Char Bagh pattern. Thus, they can also be 'garden pavilions'. These red sandstone gateways have inlaid marble designs and are double storeyed. Marble inlay work can be seen on the dados of the main iwan and spandrels of arches too. The northern and southern pavilions are almost identical. They have a single storeyed iwan in the middle and double storeyed wings on their sides. There are rooms and halls on the first floor of these pavilions. There are stairways on the sides of the façade. There are chhatris crowning these pavilions. The largest and most elaborately decorated pavilion is the western one, which is situated on the riverbank and is believed to be used by Itmad-ud-Daulah as the pleasure pavilion during his lifetime. Situated centrally in the Char Bagh, the tomb is surrounded on all sides by tanks and water channels.