This shows the Lahore Gate, the main entrance to the Red Fort (so called because it faced the city of Lahore, now in Pakistan).  The walls here give some idea of the Red Fort's massive quality.  The Red Fort is still an important military installation and a symbol of national authority, and every August 15 (Indian Independence Day) the Prime Minister gives an address from the ramparts underneath the flag. 

As the residence of the emperor, the Red Fort had multiple gates to ensure a high level of security.  This photo is of the second layer of gateways, after one has passed through the first level at the Lahore Gate.  Here the path inside takes a ninety degree turn to the left (past guard booths), after which one passes through the second level of gates seen here.  Beyond this is the Meena Bazaar, which in its time was the marketplace for the palace dwellers, but which is now filled with gifts shops with highly overpriced merchandise (anything one can buy here one can buy more cheaply in Chandni Chowk, a 10 minute walk away). 

This was the Naubhat Khana (Drum House).  Drums were used to announce the movements of the emperor, and this was the final level of security before the emperor's residence (and now it's the ticket collection point).  The building through the gate is the Diwan-i-Am or Public Audience Hall, where he met with ordinary people (the Diwan-i-Khas was the hall in which he gave private audiences for nobility and other important people).  Behind this lay the emperor's private rooms, which seemed quite small for such an important ruler. 

This photo shows the emperor's throne in the  Diwan-i-Am, or Public Audience Hall, where he met with ordinary people (you can see that the throne is very high).  The panel behind the throne is inlaid marble with inset jewels, which would have sufficiently impressed most of the subjects at the time.  This photo courtesy of Shaun Malhotra.

Since the Moghul emperors had virtually unlimited wealth at their disposal (see the Taj Mahal), all of their buildings were enriched by decorative carvings, such as this sandstone relief of a flower. 

This is a picture of the Pearl Mosque in the Red Fort.  This was the private mosque for the Moghul emperor Aurangzeb (reigned 1658-1707). 

It is supposed to be unusual because the interior walls are slanted vis-a-vis the exterior ones, to provide the proper direction (qibla) toward Mecca.

Unfortunately, although I have gone to the Red Fort since 1985, I have never seen the interior, since it has never, EVER been open.  

November  2005.

Here's the door to the mosque itself, which is richly decorated, as well as being set into an ornamental marble frame.  The trees pictured on the door may refer to the symbol of the Tree of Life, which is a common symbol denoting the vitality of the natural world as God's creation. 

The thing that struck me most about this door was the wear pattern on the threshold.  According to Muslim religious law, one should enter a mosque with the right foot first (since the right sides is considered superior to the left).  And sure enough, the right side of the threshold is considerably more worn down than the left--the legacy of generations of worshippers entering with that foot.   

Since the door chain didn't have a lock on it, I gave it a push in the hope that I might see the inside.  But no, it was somehow shut from the inside. 

November  2005.

This photo comes from Shah the doorway to Shah Jahan's private apartments.  The image of the scales was supposedly to remind him that the ruler's duty was to dispense justice impartially.  Below them is a delicately carved marble screen, which would have given the king some privacy, but also allowed free motion to any breezes in the hot season. 

November  2005.