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Friday, 13 July 2012

Birbal’s Palace

Birbal’s Palace
To the north west of the Jodha Bai’s Palace is the 2 storeyed palace occupied by Akbar’s two senior queens- ruqnayya begum and salima sultan begum. It has two storeys-four rooms and two porches with pyramidical roofs below and two rooms with cupolas and screened terraces above. The building combines hindu and muslim atyles of srchitecture.


Dargah of Sheikh Salim Chisti
To the North of the Mosque is the Dargah of Sheikh Salim Chishti. This Dargah was built in 1570. Here, childless women come for blessings of the saint. Even Akbar was blessed with three sons, when he came here. The lattice work in the Dargah is among the finest to be found any where in India.

Jama Masjid
Jama MasjidOne of the largest mosques in India, Jami Masjid was built in 1571 AD. Inside, there is a vast congregational coutyard. To the right, at the corner, is the Jammat Khana Hall and next ot this is the tomb of the royal ladies. To the left of the Jami Masjid is the Stone Cutters’ mosque, the oldest place of worship at Fateh Pur Sikri. It is entered through the eastern entrance known as the Buland Darwaza.


Buland Darwaza
This gate can be approached from the outside by a 13-metre flight of steps which adds to its grandeur. The gate erected in 1602 AD to commemorate Akbar’s victory over Deccan is the highest and grandest gateway in India and ranks among the biggest in the world.

How to Reach Fatehpur

By Air: Though a domestic airport, the Agra airport has an efficient network system as it is well connected to several Indian cities and also provides it’s commuters with special shuttle systems which travel between the cities of Agra, Khajuraho, Varanasi and back. The nearest International Airport to the city is at Delhi, which is located at a distance of around 40 minutes from Agra.

By Rail: Reaching Fatehpur Sikri by rail is also a good option for travelers traveling to this ancient land mark. The main railway station of the region is the one at the Agra Cantonment which is well connected to all the major railway stations of India including cities like Delhi, Varanasi as well as a number of the cities in Rajasthan. Besides these, the city is also connected to the neighboring cities by luxury trains like Palace on Wheels, Shatabdi, Rajdhani as well as the Taj Express.


By Road: Reaching Fatehpur Sikri by road can also be a suitable option since the region is well connected to all the major cities of the region by a well maintained and an efficient network of roads.


Turkish Sultana's House
Turkish Sultana's House, AgraThough some people suggest that this building near Anup Talao was the home of two turkish queens of Akbar called Salima Sultan Begum and Ruqayya Begum, Turkish Sultana's House is too small for being a residential building. It is more probably the 'Hujra-I-Anup Talao, mentioned by Badauni, a pleasure pavilion attached to the pond and might have been used by the Turkish queens for this purpose. The pavilion has square piers. It is connected to the ground floor of the Khwabgah complex through a colonnaded verandah and has a portico in the west. Both the verandah and portico has a stone screen with latticework.

Intricately carved like wood, this building is also known as 'superb jewel casket'and each of its stone slab has a different design such as arabesque designs on the pillars of verandah and bell shaped, floral and herring-bone carvings on the brackets supporting the roof. The dado panels depict scenes of forests and gardens. There are animal motifs and swastik patterns too.


Fatehpur Sikri_ pages_ 1_2_3_4_5

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