Fatehpur Sikri: Almost there...

From Bundi I regretfully left to meet my date with levitation in Bodhgaya. It was a 24 hour journey by train, so I decided to break it up with a two day stop in Agra. Normally I travel 3rd class non-ac, which is a fun but exhausting way to travel - everyone wants to chat with you, and it's noisy and hard to sleep. So this time I decided to spend a little more and go air conditioned class - what a difference! It was like travelling in a plane - blankets, pillows, suspension on the carriage, quiet, minimal chatting.

I got to Agra and was picked up by Chintu's friend and fellow hotelier. Chintu had rung ahead and organised the whole thing for me ("he is my brother, look after him"). This was a good thing, because the whole time I was there was a tired blur for me.

First sight to see, because I'm a snob, was Fatehpur Sikri.

This was a city constructed by Admiral Emperor Akbar to be the capital of his Moghul Empire in the 16th century. It lasted about 10 years before it was abandoned due to water supply problems and the capital moved back to Agra. Salman Rushdie writes about it in his o.k. book The Enchantress of Florence.

The palace:

The Panch Mahal, because it has five stories, get it?

This is an interesting one. This is where Akbar would invite scholars and religious figures to debate eachother and himself. He was that kind of guy. He had a Hindu, Muslim and Christian wife. He invented a new religion which was a synthesis of all the bits of other religions he liked. I like to think of them up there with big poles, a la Gladiators:

Though perhaps without the bikinis.

By now I was feeling a little dissapointed. I mean the palace was nice and all, but not that amazing. Then I came through to the other side and saw the Jama Masjid. Moghul Emperors rarely disappoint.


A huge mosque complex, surrounded on all sides by gates:


The tomb of Salim Chisti, Akbar's patron saint.


Beautiful lattice-work inside the tomb, carved out of one piece of marble:

The main gate is about twice this size, by comparison.


The main gate. It's set on the top of a huge set of steps, which makes it even more impressive. I'm surprised this isn't more famous, it's so big you get vertigo just looking up at it. Of course, I couldn't get it all in my lens.


Part two in my 'happy animals near monuments' series. At the base of the gate, this was just absurd.


And here's another wacky pic - a nearby tower decorated with stone elephant tusks: