Travel bucket list idea:
Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
In the late 1500s, the Mughal Emperor Akbar constructed a new capital near Agra – Fatehpur Sikri.
The Mughals’ first planned city was monumental in scale and design, and notable for the mastery and finesse of its predominantly red sandstone architecture. The city’s rather abrupt abandonment after fifteen years remains a mystery, though a lack of water is usually cited as the cause.
Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the atmospheric ‘ghost city’ provides a fascinating and unique insight into the Mughal court. Huge colonnaded courtyards, lofty audience halls, a treasury and royal apartments skilfully blend Muslim and Hindu traditions – in keeping with Akbar’s enlightened perspective.
The magnificent 16th-century Jami Masjid (or principal mosque) remains in use and childless women still come to the lattice-screened marble tomb-shrine of a Sufi saint, seeking divine intervention for a child.
The large caravanserai (whose numerous rooms once sheltered merchants) and the peculiar hiran minar (a watchtower and hide bristling with stone ‘tusks’) get relatively few visitors.
Most visitors drive from nearby Agra or Bharatpur either as a day trip or as a pause on the journey to/from these destinations and Jaipur. The earthy, bustling village of Fatehpur stands beside the site.
There are information plaques for the most important buildings but local guides can provide a more informed view of the complex. Official guides are available beside the entrances. Unofficial guides have a habit of shadowing visitors; some are very good, but you MUST agree a fee beforehand.
It’s open all year round, seven days a week, from sunrise to sunset. Remember, May and June are ferociously hot and uncomfortable.
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