The beautiful tomb of Mirza Ghiyat Beg, the important courtier of Akbar, and later the wazir (chief minister) and father-in-law of Emperor Jahangir, stands in the middle of a garden with frolicking monkeys on the east bank of the Yamuna, less than 3 km from the city. The first building built in Mogul India with white marble facing, this marvelous two-storeyed mausoleum, which the rickshaws of Agra call the "Baby Taj", which sometimes leads to misunderstandings, is a small but marvelously executed building with translucent slabs and openwork stone patterns adorning the walls. He definitely bears the imprint of a feminine taste, being built by the daughter of Ghiyat Bega, the beloved queen of Jahangir and the most influential woman in Mughal history, which Jahangir called Nur Jahan - "The Light of the World".
A square mausoleum with an octagonal turret at each corner is the forerunner of the Taj Mahal, marble was used in its construction, but its proportions are more elegant, and the roof is crowned not by a dome, but rather by a pavilion. However, with the recent "restoration" works, low quality plaster was used, which concealed some delightful details, while in other places the semiprecious stones cut into marble were scraped and stolen. The grave of Ghiyat Bega is underground, next to the sakofagom of his wife, strewn with flowers. An openwork, adorned with a quaint carvings, the wall before the entrance to the crypt casts soft diffuse light on images of flowers, cypresses, vases and vessels with wine - they are all symbols of paradise - in the inner chamber.
