Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri 

Inside the Hall of Private Audience

The Hall of Private Audience

View From Akbar's Bedroom

Getting Showered with Rose Petals as we arrive at the Rambaugh Palace

Bedroom and Sitting Room in our Suite

Marble Stairway to Sunken Tub 

Dinner at the Taj

Spinnach and Corn, Chicken Biryani

We left Agra and the Taj Mahal. When we last saw the Taj Mahal 8 years ago, I said to myself that we would never return. This is a once in a life time event. I was wrong. We enjoyed it even more this time. Our understanding of Indian History and culture made this visit even more meaningful. To experience it while staying at the Oberoi was the topping on the cake.

We were headed to Jaipur to attend the Jaipur Literary Festival once again, but we wanted to make one important stop on the way, the fabled city of Fatehpur Sikri. This city near Agra was created by Akbar the Great. The Moghul Emperor who united India. He is known for his three wives. He was, of course, Muslim but married a Muslim, a Christian and most famously a Hindu - Jodhaa. He understood the only way that this vast Hindu country would allow itself to be ruled by Muslim Mughals was to be religiously tolerant. He created a religion that unfortunately did not survive he attempted to blend all religions into one.

He created the city of Fatehpur Sikri outside of Agra to be the new capital of India. They planned for a population of inhabitants but misjudged the number of people that would want to live near the Emperor. The result was there was simply not enough water to support the Capital. They quickly abandoned Fatehpur Sikri and returned the capital to Agra. Because the city did not have sufficient water no one else wanted it. It was built of sandstone which was plentiful in the region, so there was no reason to strip the stone from Fatehpur Sikri to build elsewhere. The result is this amazing dead city - perfectly preserved - not a spec of graffiti for example. It is a world heritage site.

The story of Akbar has been retold in many forms. Our favorite is a recent Bollywood movie: Jodhaa Akbar. Although the movie wasn’t filmed at Fatehpur Sikri, the sets resembled the Palace and we could imagine the scenes from the movie.

After leaving Fatehpur Sikri we completed our drive to Jaipur and checked into a real Palace: Rambaugh Palace. We have stayed here before. This is a truly special place. The upgraded us to a Royal Suite of the Palace. Our bathroom is two levels, with marble stairs leading up to a giant marble bath big enough for two people. John joined us for drinks and dinner. The food was wonderful. We especially liked the Corn and Spinach which we had last year with Shumon.