We leave Agra by car, with a driver who has been arranged for us, and he seems the epitome of calm on these chaotic and eternally congested roads. It's a while before we're really out of the city, and this is now our first real glimpse of the countryside as we've flown from place to place up until now.
It's just short of an hour to Fatehpur Sikri, legendary city home to the first Moghul emperor of northern India, Akbar. (For a fanciful treat, check out Salman Rushdie's The Enchantress of Florence, which details some of Akbar's life --[thanks to Ashim for that tip:)] It's another massive fort, only some of which still stands. The driver parks and tells us we must walk up the road or take a tuk tuk to get there. He doesn't specify which direction, but all the yelling hawkers and tuk tuk drivers make that fairly clear. Except, as we subsequently discover, we've masterfully ended up at the wrong entrance, and have to go through the massive mosque that anchors one side of the archaelogical site--one that is still used, "very sacred", "must cover", "cannot be alone", and a litany of other issues to be handled, even though we're assured by the pack of touts that we can reach the fort this way. It's just that we have to put up with their endless prattle first. Sigh. It does take some doing, but we finally make it up the endless stairs and into the courtyard that leads, on one side to the massive mosque. Shoes in hand, we discover the gorgeous screens of the white marble burial building of a famous Sufi saint, which sits near the center of the courtyard. All stone carved screens of dazzlingly diverse patterns and beauty, they're a good stop, and a momentary break in the frenzied rattling of our various wannabe guides, and later it turns out, purveyors of goods/souvenirs clearly not allowed to be sold on these holy premises! It's a circus that finally comes to an end when we discover the way into the fort and the actual ticket office. No mean accomplishment as we're consistently misled! No matter. The site is really quite lovely, infrequently visited, despite its proximity to Agra, and there are some simply stunning architectural features, most notable of which is the ornately carved column that sustains the so-called Jewel House (Diwan-I-Khass).
Pictures of the fort: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nM9AYB87kVmPvSXQ8
It's just short of an hour to Fatehpur Sikri, legendary city home to the first Moghul emperor of northern India, Akbar. (For a fanciful treat, check out Salman Rushdie's The Enchantress of Florence, which details some of Akbar's life --[thanks to Ashim for that tip:)] It's another massive fort, only some of which still stands. The driver parks and tells us we must walk up the road or take a tuk tuk to get there. He doesn't specify which direction, but all the yelling hawkers and tuk tuk drivers make that fairly clear. Except, as we subsequently discover, we've masterfully ended up at the wrong entrance, and have to go through the massive mosque that anchors one side of the archaelogical site--one that is still used, "very sacred", "must cover", "cannot be alone", and a litany of other issues to be handled, even though we're assured by the pack of touts that we can reach the fort this way. It's just that we have to put up with their endless prattle first. Sigh. It does take some doing, but we finally make it up the endless stairs and into the courtyard that leads, on one side to the massive mosque. Shoes in hand, we discover the gorgeous screens of the white marble burial building of a famous Sufi saint, which sits near the center of the courtyard. All stone carved screens of dazzlingly diverse patterns and beauty, they're a good stop, and a momentary break in the frenzied rattling of our various wannabe guides, and later it turns out, purveyors of goods/souvenirs clearly not allowed to be sold on these holy premises! It's a circus that finally comes to an end when we discover the way into the fort and the actual ticket office. No mean accomplishment as we're consistently misled! No matter. The site is really quite lovely, infrequently visited, despite its proximity to Agra, and there are some simply stunning architectural features, most notable of which is the ornately carved column that sustains the so-called Jewel House (Diwan-I-Khass).
Pictures of the fort: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nM9AYB87kVmPvSXQ8
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