He had his son. And he was tired of the chaos at Agra.

He decided to make a new start at the place where his son had been granted to him. And so the Mughal Emperor Akbar decided to build Fatehpur Sikri. This, he hoped, would be a city more in tune with his predilections. Here he would debate theology, indulge in the arts and listen to his vast collection of books. (He himself was illiterate.) Here he would build a palace complex as unorthodox as his court, fusing Hindu and Muslim architectural traditions.

And then without knowing it, he seemed to predict its doom. On one of the arches, severe, restrained, beautiful, there is a Koranic inscription which reads, translated roughly:

Jesus, son of Mary (peace be upon him) said that this world is a bridge we must cross. Build no houses upon it.

And so Fatehpur Sikri was only occupied for 14 years. They were rich, productive years but the water supply would not support the demands of the court. Or the death of the Sufi saint who brought him there in the first place, made Akbar lose interest. Or there were political reasons. (Take your pick.) Akbar left his court so abruptly that even today the feeling that this is a palace asleep rather than a palace abandoned still hangs around the almost immaculate ruins.

And the inscription from the Koran is still there, to remind visitors of the hubris of kings.

How To Reach

Air
Agra's Kheria airport is the closest.

Rail
Regular trains run from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri. The cost is a nominal Rs 8.

Road
Every 30 minutes, a bus leaves Agra for Fatehpur Sikri. You can also hire a jeep that will cost between Rs 300 to Rs 400.

Sights to Visit

The Palace Complex
This is the beginning of Emperor Akbar's noble but doomed attempt to fuse Hinduism and Islam. Thus what is called Birbal's palace and Jodhabai's palace are the only buildings where Hindu architectural styles predominate while the others tend to be Mughal in nature. That wasn't the only departure Akbar made here.

Instead of aligning his buildings with the cardinal points, Akbar broke new ground by following the diktats of the topography. Thus all the buildings face southwest or northeast except for the Jami Masjid and the most private apartments that face west towards Mecca.

For 400 years it has stood empty, an almost perfectly preserved a liberal emperor's tryst with syncretism and modernity. Fatehpur Sikri is open from 6 am to 5.30 pm.

Jama Masjid
The only purely Muslim building is the Jama Masjid. It is said to be based on the mosque in Mecca. You enter it (shoeless) through the 54 m high Buland Darwaza (Gate of Victory) which Akbar built to commemorate his conquest of Gujarat. When critical mass accumulates around the gate, you can watch while young men take the leap from the top of the gate to the deep well outside it. The touts are at their most concentrated here.

Outside the mosque are the remains of a mason's mosque, supposedly also the place where Shaikh Salim Chishti's cave was originally when Emperor Akbar came on foot to ask for a son.

The tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti
In the northern part of the courtyard is the superb white marble dargah or tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti, built in 1580. (It was originally made of red sandstone but was covered in marble in the early 1800s). The canopy above his grave is inlaid with mother of pearl. The screens (jalis) around it are unbelievably beautiful. They are festooned with threads, tied by childless women who invoke the saint's aid in getting a child. (When so blessed, they return to untie a thread. It is said that no thread ever wears off and falls away, so powerful is the intercessionary power and mercy of the saint.) Next to it is the larger red sandstone tomb of the saint's grandson and various other members of his family.
Remove your shoes when you enter here. Carry a pair of socks or hire a pair of cloth shoes so that your toes won't freeze. (And yes, they can get pretty cold even on a hot day. Marble is like that.) And please be circumspect; a huge amount of human suffering and hope washes around this tomb.

Palace of Jodha Bai
There is still debate over whether this was the palace of Jodha Bai, the princess of Amber, whose son Jehangir was to rule after Akbar. However this is the name by which the palace is known and the name by which the guides still refer to it. Inside make sure you visit the Hawa Mahal, a projecting room whose walls are made of carved stone jalis; the ladies of the court could thus remain unseen but could watch the world go by in the courtyard below and enjoy whatever breeze there was. It can be an interesting visual exercise to come back at three different times in the day and note how different patterns of chiaroscuro form as the sun moves.

Birbal Bhavan
Since this one is in the women's quarters, it could hardly have been the home of the renowned Birbal, the great wit at Akbar's court. (Good place to start a feminist discussion: was Birbal a woman). However it could have been built by him which would account for the name. Most scholars now maintain that it is the senior queens' palace.

It is a rather elegant building, almost too elegant. However when you go in you will notice how much cooler it is inside. That's because it cleverly uses a double domed structure to insulate the interiors and the positioning of the building itself allows for the maximum shade. (This might be another reason why it was called Birbal Bhavan, to tie in with his great wisdom.)
More on Birbal and Akbar

Caravanserai
Badly defaced elephants at the Hathi Pol still guard the entrance to the resting place for passing travellers and caravans. Fitted into the ridge, it was probably one of several that were built to accommodate merchants and visitors. Also notice the waterworks with a deep well that uses an ingenious device to raise water into the aqueducts which were above the height of the ridge. Inside is the 21 m high Hiran Minar (the minaret of the deer), said to have been constructed as a monument over the grave of Akbar's favourite elephant, Hiran. It may also have been an akash diya (a lamp to light the night sky) or the zero point from which distances in kos were measured.

Palace of the Christian Wife
Maryamma was the Roman Catholic wife of Emperor Akbar; she was from Goa. The palace was originally gilded, it is said, but now no traces of that remain. (You can abandon red sandstone but you can't abandon gold.)


Panch Mahal
One of Fatehpur Sikri's most famous structures the Panch Mahal or five-storeyed palace tapers to a single kiosk, each storey stepped back from the one beneath. It is a rather pretty building, whimsical and breezy. It is supported by 84 columns of different designs.

Treasury
The guide will tell you with a knowing grin that this is where Emperor Akbar played hide-and-go-seek with his harem. Now scholars incline to the more mundane belief that it was the treasury. This might account for the gargoyle-lookalikes, carved monsters that were supposed to guard treasure. In one corner, the guide will stop and show you the Astrologer's Seat where Akbar's Hindu sage was supposed to have sat and instructed the emperor. The same killjoy scholars suggest it was where the treasurer sat and watched the counting of the revenues with an eagle eye.


Diwan-I-Am
This building was used for public encounters with the emperor including prayers and celebrations. The courtyard had a pavilion in the western end which was where Akbar sat. The position at which Akbar sat forced his courtiers and subjects to approach him with deference. (This had led some scholars to believe that he saw in himself some form of a Godhead.) The women sat around him, observing the proceedings from behind carved stone screens.

The emperor enjoyed pachisi (a board game) so much that a single game might be played over a month. And so he had his architects lay out a lifesized board on which he played with slave girls dressed in red blue and yellow, the colours of the counters.

Diwan-I-Khas
In the Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience) Akbar debated religion with Muslim leaders, Jesuit priests, Hindu Brahmins, Jains and Zoroastrians. The building has a circular throne platform, 6 m high, on which Akbar sat to debate. His courtiers could listen in on the theological discussions. Again the use of the building is the subject of some debate. Some say it was an agora for religious debate. Others say it was where Akbar sat to mete out justice. Still others maintain that this was where he was weighed on the Persian New Year, against gold or silver coins, which were then distributed as largesse.

The Diwan Khana-I-Khas
This is said to have been Akbar's own sleeping quarters. They face Mecca and seem rather spartan but then history records that he was that kind of king.

Rumi Sultana
Said to be the palace of Akbar's Turkish Queen