History of Shish Mahal

Built by Mughar Emperor Shah Jahan between the years 1631-1640, the Shish Mahal, which means “palace of glass” in English, is situated in the Agra Fort, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Loaded with thick exteriors, the prime reason behind its construction was to have royal, imperial baths, and thus, the thick exteriors to keep the ambiance cold always.

The structure is beautiful with mirrors everywhere, from the ceiling to the walls, making a reflection reflect thousand times you see anywhere and everywhere. The place was kept dark most of the times, deliberately and lit up with lamps so that the golden flames could reflect in all the surroundings through the mirrors installed all over the place, giving the atmosphere a dramatically beautiful effect.

According to historians, the mirrors installed were taken from Haleb (in Syria) as at that point of time it was the main hub to manufacture mirrors. The place has two big chambers that have a marble tank that would be used to allocate hot and cold water through the fountains it contained.

There are marble doors, which were built in order to provide steam bath for the royals. There’s also two recessions for candles, which would be lit up to provide beautiful reflections of the flames in the water.