The faded history of Fatehpur Sikri



Travel Date: Oct 2011

History / Visit Logistics

A little under an hour from Agra and on the road to Jaipur lies an abandoned city that was the capital of the Mughal empire in the late 16th century. Built by Emperor Akbar to honour his spiritual guru, Sheikh Salim Chishti, who predicted the birth of Akbar's children and lived in the village of Sikri, Fatehpur Sikri (City of Victory) was built over 15 years, from 1571 to 1585.

Even though Fatehpur Sikri was the capital for over a decade, the lack of adequate water supply meant that it was very quickly abandoned by Akbar, who moved back to Agra.
The city has stood, abandoned for over 400 years and today stands overlooking a hazy, smoggy city - a ghost city shrouded in mist.



On the road from Agra, the entrance to Fatehpur Sikri is through the Agra gate, where private vehicles need to stop and park. From the Agra gate to the walled city is a distance of roughly 1 km, which can be covered by public transport buses for ticket prices of Rs. 10 ($0.14) or much more expensive tuk-tuks where the price depends completely on your negotiation skills.

From the Agra gate, the buses run to 2 entry points of the city - the Diwan-i-am and the Jodh Bai gates (which is where we entered the complex). Tickets for Fatehpur Sikri's sites typically cost Rs. 50 ($0.70) for Indians and roughly Rs. 600 ($9) for non-Indians.

If there is one tip I would give, it is that Fatehpur Sikri has to be visited early in the morning, at sunrise if possible. There are 2 enormous benefits to such an 'inconvenience'. 
One - you can largely avoid the crowds and the enormous army of touts and guides that relentlessly target tourists, and, 
Two - a lot of the Mughal architecture of this period is red sandstone, and sunlight reflecting off these structures can be absolutely stunning.



Inside Fatehpur Sikri 

At the entrance into the site is a fairly detailed site map. This is worth taking a picture of and referring to through the course of the visit, as maps tend to otherwise be hawked, overpriced and unreliable.


As can be seen on the above map, there are numerous monuments inside the historical site. Below are just some of the most noteworthy.
 
Note: There is not a great amount of conclusive information about the monuments in Fatehpur Sikri and their use or the reason for their construction. In these cases, a lot of the below description sticks to what is commonly believed about the city and the reign of Emperor Akbar. 

Referred to on the signboard as Camel Stables, the 'Lower Haramsara', the multi-columned structure was apparently nothing of the sort - instead housing servicing maids of the palace. One can only imagine what 'servicing maids' actually means.

 

'Jodhabai's Palace' is one of the largest structures in Fatehpur Sikri and was supposedly constructed by Emperor Akbar for his favourite wife. Jodhabai, supposedly being a Rajput princess, had her palace constructed with traces of Rajasthani, Gujarati and Mughal architecture and with niches that allowed her to keep idols of her Hindu deities.


 


 


Believed to be the residence of Akbar's foremost minister, Birbal's Palace was also said to host 2 of the emperor's queens before Jodhabai. Architecturally, the palace appears to be in a typical Mughal style with white-domed towers and intricately carved brackets.

 



Built by Emperor Akbar as a recreational palace for the ladies of court, the Panch Mahal is a multi-leveled palace consisting of 5 pavilions (5 = Panch). The lowest level has 84 pillars that support the entire elevated structure. As the levels get higher, the pavilions become smaller in size and the supporting pillars reduce in number. The Panch Mahal also has a pool in front, called the 'Anup Talab' - also serving as a venue for entertainment performances.

 

 



The Diwan-i-Khas or the Jewel House was the place where the Emperor met private guests and was reserved for the Emperor and special members and guests of the Court. Though having the outward appearance of a two-storeyed structure, it has a single high-ceiling hall with an intricately carved throne pillar. The seat of the king was supposed to have been affixed to the huge pillar in the center with guests and ministers in galleries on the side.


 


The Hiran Minar was believed to have been built by Emperor Akbar in memory of his favourite elephant 'Hiran' and was meant to serve as a light house / mile post. Decorated all over with 6-pointed stars, each star has stone tusks protruding out of it.



The Jama Masjid complex with its congregational mosque was said to be one of the earliest monuments to be built within the city and supervised by Akbar's Sufi saint Salim Chishti and his family. The Badshahi darwaza is the entrance to the complex facing the royal monuments in Fatehpur Sikri and was the entrance through which the royal family would visit the mosque.

 

 

 


Standing at a height of 40m and the result of 12 years of construction, the Buland Darwaza is the most famous monument inside Fatehpur Sikri. Built from red sandstone and decorated with white and black marble, this gateway is the main entrance to the Jama Masjid complex. It is said to have been constructed to commemorate Akbar's annexation of Gujarat. 
The front facing pillars have inscriptions from the Quran and the doors have horseshoes nailed to them, as a prayer for luck before going into battle.

 



Despite having arrived so early that we were the only tourists for a good hour, it was blazing heat in the mid-morning when we were done We left Fatehpur-Sikri as we found it with two important pieces of knowledge gained...

One: Even if it is written by just the victors, History can be immensely fascinating
Two: Sometimes you have to dig through layers of dust and smog to find it


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