Ram
Bagh
Laid out in 1528 by Babur the first of the Mughal emperors this is the earliest
Mughal garden. It is said that Babur was temporarily buried here before being
permanently interred at Kabul in Afaganisthan. The Ram Bagh is 2 to 3 km further
north of the Chini Ka rauza on the riverside and is open from sunrise to sunset.
Jama Masjid
The mosque at Sikri was the first structure to be built in 1571. The exterior
is modest but the interior carries the most gorgeous ornamentation in the floral
arabesques and ingenious geometrical patterns in brown, red, turquoise, black
and white. The spacious courtyard adds a stately charm to the place. It could
accommodate ten thousand men at prayer. Akbar was so enthusiastic about this
mosque that he occasionally swept the floor and gave azan (call for prayer).
On June 26, 1579, Akbar even read the khutba himself, a great innovation, earlier
attempted only the Timur and Mirza Ulugh Beg.
Fatehpur Sikri
Unfortunately I've not visited Fatehpur Sikri, a ghost city 37 km from Agra,
simply because I didn't know it existed. I would encourage any future visitor
of Agra to pay it a visit. The site is founded by Akbar the great, who at 26
years did not have a heir. He went to a saint, Shaikh Salim Chishti who lived
in a city called Sikri. His blessing gave Akbar 3 sons. As a gesture, Akbar
built a whole new city in Sikri. It was built between 1569 and 1585 and was
intended to be the joint capital with Agra, but was soon deserted because the
water system could not support the any residents. It remained untouched for
over 400 years now and its palaces are a remainder of the extravagance of the
Mughals.
Sikandra
Fort
Welcome to Sikandra, a supurb of Agra, only 13 km. from the Agra Fort, the last
resting place of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Akbar was the greatest of the Mughal
emperors and one of the most secular minded royalties of his time. He was the
heir to a long tradition of oriental refinement, a great patron of the arts,
literature, philosophy and science.
A visit to Akbar's monument opens before one, the completeness of Akbar's personality
as completely as the Taj Mahal does of Mumtaz Mahal's. Akbar's vast, beautifully
carved, red-ochre sandstone tomb is set amidst a lush garden.
Akbar himself planned his own tomb and selected a suitable site for it. To construct
a tomb in one's lifetime was a Tartary custom which the Mughals followed religiously.
Akbar's son Jahangir completed the construction of this pyramidal tomb in 1613.
The tomb stands in the center of a vast garden, which is enclosed by high walls
on all sides. In the middles of each
enclosing
wall is a monumental gateway. The whole garden is divided into four equal quarters
on the conventional charbhag plan. Each quarter is separated by a high terrace
or raised path with a narrow shallow water channel running at the center. Each
terrace has in the center, a tank with fountains.
Although there is only one entrance in use today there exist four red sandstone
gates which lead to the mausoleum complex. The decoration on the gateways is
strikingly bold, with large mosaic patterns set into it.
The gateway's four minarets rising from the corners are particularly striking.
Built of red sandstone, the minarets are inlaid with white marble polygonal
patterns; the pleasing Proportions & Profuse surface ornamentation makes
the gateways very impressive.
These gateways reflect a curious hybrid of different styles of architecture-Hindu,
Muslim Christian and a patent mixture of Akbar's typical style.
Agra Excursions, About Agra
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