Drive to Agra with a Stopover at Fatehpur Sikri

16th September 2018

We left the hotel in Jaipur at 9 am, for what looks like a pretty full day. The is only one sightseeing visit between Jaipur and Agra that is a planned stop, so the morning is spent travelling through the countryside, continuing to take in daily life in India.

Not far out of Jaipur we came across our first religious rally for the day

Working with stone is a major industry in these parts and the stone masonry skills are first class. Brand new Temples are still being built from 100% elaborately carved white marble, and red sandstone are the main materials.

There are many outlets selling slabs of marble along the roadside, others selling carved items

One village we passed through specialises in making domes from sandstone

There were lots of these outlets along the roadside

We are now travelling through quite fertile plains with heavy cropping, growing everything from  barley to sugar cane, potatoes and a wide range of vegetables. They are also harvesting feed for their cattle for the coming winter.

Also in preparation for winter they are stockpiling fuel, in the form of piles of dried cow dung stored by the roadside. This will be used for winter heating and maybe the odd cremation.

A pile if dried cow dung by the roadside

Other than taking in the sites of rural India, we had the usual driving challenges of avoiding wandering cows,  goats and the odd donkey. Today we faced a new challenge when an antelope appeared from nowhere a raced across in front of us making the driver brake hard unexpectedly.

By 1 pm we had reached our sightseeing destination, Fatehpur Sikri. We met up with our guide and caught a bus up to the entrance to the Palace. Fatehpur Sikri is a small walled city founded as the capital of the Mughal Empire,by the Mughal King Akbar in the 16th century. It is a complex made up of a series of buildings and courtyards made of red sandstone built in a mixture of Mughal and Hindu styles.

Strangely it was only occupied for a short period of time.

The public courtyard where the King would meet with the public and resolve issues

This courtyard was not open to the public and it was where the King conferred with his advisors

Inside the building with the 4 domes was a central pillar which was intricately carved and the King would sit on a platform above this column and his advisors on platforms around the 4 walls connected to the central platform by 4 bridges.

There are many buildings and a few more courtyards, built to a similar design to the other forts we have seen. It is the red sandstone buildings that make this one stand out. Here are a few photos.

The Hammam, (Turkish Baths)

Water storage

The stables

It is a very large complex, but it was a city and it took us almost 2 hours to have a reasonable look around. By now it is after 3 pm and we head back to the car and to a local restaurant for a very late lunch. We weren't the only ones, as within 15 minutes of us arriving at a relatively empty restaurant, it was full.

Agra was another hour away, and by the time we reached our hotel, The Radisson Blu East Taj gate, it is 5.15 pm. The hotel is undergoing some renovation work in the foyer area, but the room is comfortable.

You can see the Taj Mahal from the pool terrace on the roof of the hotel

We had a predinner drink by the pool

Tomorrow we have a very early start, meeting our driver at 6.30am, to travel the less than 1km to the Taj Mahal. Apparently it is best viewed in the early morning.