north india includes some highly regarded historical, architectural and archaeological treasures of india. the taj mahal, an immense mausoleum of white marble in agra, is one of the universally admired buildings of world heritage. besides agra, fatehpur sikri and delhi also carry some great exhibits from the mughal architecture. in punjab, patiala is known for being the city of royalty while amritsar is a city known for its sikh architecture and the golden temple. lucknow has the famous awadhi nawab culture while kanpur reflects excellent british architecture with monuments like edward hall, police quarters, cutchery cemetery etc. khajuraho temples constitute another famous world heritage site. the state of rajasthan is known for exquisite palaces and forts of the rajput clans. historical sites and architecture from the ancient and medieval hindu and buddhist periods of indian history, such as jageshwar, deogarh and sanchi, as well as sites from the bronze age indus valley civilization, such as manda and alamgirpur, can be found scattered throughout northern india. varanasi, on the banks of the river ganga, is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the second oldest in india after nalanda. bhimbetka is an archaeological site of the paleolithic era, exhibiting the earliest traces of human life on the indian subcontinent.