Interesting places in Historical City Fatehpur Sikri:

Tomb of Salim Chishti		so called jodha bai mahal
Anoop Talab		dwan-e-khas
Panch Mahal		Caravanserai
Hotel Goverdhan		Buland Darwazah
रहीम का घर Abdul Rahim Khankhana Palace		Deewan-E-Aam
Parking Area for visitors		Hiran Minar(Satfera)

the Historical City Fatehpur Sikri is part of Fortification Walls of Fatehpur Sikri , Fatehpur Sikri .

Location is derived from the great work of WikiMapia

Top photos chosen by u all:

Buland Darwaza
Made by mksfoto
The Buland Darwaza or the Lofty Gate is a magnificent structure built in red sandstone with decorations in white marble and looms over the courtyard of the mosque. It has calligraphic inscriptions from the Quran on its front and pillars and chattris on its roof. What you see above is one of the twin doors of the Gate. This triumphal arch was built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, when he defeated the king of Khandesh (modern day Gujarat) in 1573. The semioctagonal structure of the Buland Darwaza is 40.84 meters (approx 134 feet) high. It stands on a platform that is 13.52 metres (or 44 feet) high, which requires 42 steps to be climbed to reach its top, from where the gate itself starts. It is the most Islamic structure in Fatehpur Sikri and echoes early Mughal design with simple ornamentation, carved verses from the Koran and soaring arches. The inscriptions are not only famous for its calligraphy, but one of the inscriptions is attributed to Jesus Christ and it reads, The World is but a bridge, pass over but build no houses on it. Here you can see the Darwaza from the outside.


Birbal Bhawan
Made by Gerrigje Engelen
[img145-12-1] This building, popularly attributed to Raja Birbal, was an integral part of the Haramsara. Most probably Akbar's two senior queens, Viz. Ruqaiyya Begam (1542-1626) and Salima Sultan Begam (1542-1612) lived in this house. It is now open on all sides but was originally provided with stone screens. Standing on a large concrete platform, it is a double-storeyed structure raised on pillars and arches of plain masonry and has four rooms on the ground floor and two entrance porches with two domed chambers on the upper storey. The walls and ceilings of the lower rooms are exquisitely carved. The variety of ornamental carvings displayed both inside and outside the house testify to the masterly skill of the Sikri artisans in plastic art and arabesque decoration. [Fatehpur Sikri Fort (unknown date). Northern Palace of the Haramsara (Birbal's House). Digital description image uploaded by vishnu.kumar7: ThinkingParticle(dot)com (consulted 2011)]


Porch in Front of Our Room, Goverdhan Tourist Complex
Made by yusheng
Fatehpur Sikri is a small town, I don't think many people stay here overnight. Most people just make a detour here in the afternoon from Agra. We were the only two guests in the hotel that night (Rs500/US$10 a night). The friendly owner was very eager to talk to me about Taiwan when I told him that's where I'm from. Ah! Taiwan! I've never had a guest from there. I want to talk to you about your country later! he beamed. So, after dinner, he joined us at the dinner table outside our room (pictured above) and started asking questions. You'll never guess what his first question was. The question foremost on his mind about a foreign country. The one thing he has to know. How easily can you get a hooker? Um, what?! Then there were questions about when teenage girls are allowed to be with boys. Aside from these pervy questions, he also wanted to know about Muslims in Taiwan, price of beer, food, hotel and crime rate. It was like he was doing some sort of weird pervy old man survey. When he was done and satisfied, he got up and left.


Fatehpur Sikri - फतेहपुर सीकरी - فتحپور سیکری
Made by mksfoto
Fatehpur Sikri was constructed by the Mughal emperor Akbar and served as his empire's capital from 1571 till 1585, when it was abandoned for reasons that remain unclear. A commonly held belief is because there was a shortage of water in this area. While most of the sprawling city no longer exists, the surviving palace and mosque are a tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This video gives you a brief history of this city and takes you around the important landmarks. ___________________ [I've posted a low res version of the photo because of which you will see streaks in the blue of the sky (the original file is approx 10.7MB) - I can only suggest you ignore that and appreciate the architecture :--]


Going Round in Circles
Made by mksfoto
The inside view of one of the domes at Fatehpur Sikri _______________________________ Reportedly Emperor Akbar, though he had many wives and concubines (some reports say 5,000 at one time), did not have an heir. He went on a pilgrimage to Sheikh Salim Chisti, a Sufi saint who lived some 40km from Agra (where the Taj Mahal stands) and sought his blessings. The following year Akbar was blessed with a son, who he named Salim, after the saint, in gratitude. (Salim later ascended the throne as Emperor Jahangir) The beautiful monuments at Fatehpur Sikri are a synthesis of Islamic and Hindu architecture reflecting the religious tolerance of Akbar. Akbar also founded a syncretic religion called Din-i-Illahi, which inspired some of the buildings at Fatehpur Sikri. The city of Fatehpur Sikri was built as a sign of Emperor Akbar's gratitude to Sheikh Salim Chisti.


Lower Haramsara
Made by Gerrigje Engelen
[img145-11-x] This large colonnaded enclosure, wrongly called camel stables, elephant stables and horse stables, was probably intended for housing the servicing maids of the ladies palaces, for which an entrance was provided in the north. For the sanitary needs of the staff lavatory blocks were also provided. The stone rings may have been used for fixing curtains for partitioning the space. [Fatehpur Sikri Fort (unknown date). Lower Haramsara. Digital description image uploaded by vishnu.kumar7: ThinkingParticle(dot)com (consulted 2011)] This photo also appears on Panoramio


Jama Masjid's courtyard
Made by Gerrigje Engelen
[img145-08-1] The Jama Masjid is a Jami Mosque meaning the Friday Mosque congregational mosque, and was perhaps one of the first buildings to come up in the Fatehpur Sikri Fort complex, as its epigraph gives AH 979 (A.D. 1571-72) as the date of its completion, with a massive entrance to the courtyard, the Buland-Darwaza added some five years later. It was built in the manner of Indian mosques, with iwans around a central courtyard. A distinguishing feature is the row of chhatri over the sanctuary. [Wikipedia (unknown date). Fatehpur Sikri. en(dot)Wikipedia(dot)org (consulted 2011)]


Jama Masjid
Made by Gerrigje Engelen
[img145-09-1] The Jama Masjid in Fatehpur Sikri is a mosque in Agra, completed in 1571. Worship there is currently led by a Barelvi imam. The rectangular mosque comprises a central nave with a single dome, two colonnaded halls on either side, with two square chambers crowned with domes [Wikipedia (unknown date). Jama Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri. en(dot)Wikipedia(dot)org (consulted 2011)] This photo also appears on Panoramio


Anup Talao
Made by Gerrigje Engelen
[img145-14-1] The Peerless Pool (Anup Talao), also called Kapur Talao by Jahangir, is a pretty tank. It is 29.10 meters square and in its centre is a balustraded platform approached by four causeways supported on short stone pillars. Completed in A.D. 1575, it was intended for imperial amusement and private functions. [Fatehpur Sikri Fort (unknown date). Anup Talao. Digital description image uploaded by vishnu.kumar7: ThinkingParticle(dot)com (consulted 2011)]


Dinner @ Goverdhan Tourist Complex
Made by yusheng
It was okay. I mean, not counting the beers we had (we had 4 at Rs100 each), the food for the two of us was only Rs345/US$6.90. It's not quite as good as the fancy Delhi restaurants I to, but I didn't expect it to be. But like I have been saying in all the food porn uploads from this trip, the difference between the fancy places and the low-brow places just isn't that big.


Jama Masjid Fatehpur Sikri...
Made by cmac66
The Jama Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri was completed in 1571 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. It is located about 45 KM from Agra and the Taj Mahal. Become a fan of the cool Froz’n Motion Facebook page at FACEBOOK or visit www.froznmotion.com


Red Riding Hood...
Made by cmac66
She was the daughter of a merchant inside Jama Masjid Fatehpur Sikri. Become a fan of the cool Froz’n Motion Facebook page at FACEBOOK or visit www.froznmotion.com


Fatehpur Sikri Fort's garden
Made by Gerrigje Engelen
[img145-13-1] This large garden marks the start of the women's side (roughly, the west side) of the palace complex. [Gunther, Michael D. (unknown date). Monuments of India: Fatehpur Sikri. Old Stones: The Monuments of Art History (consulted 2011)]


Rythm in red shades
Made by designldg
This is the Jami Masjid flat-roofed pillared gallery in Fatehpur Sikri, the place where the great Mughal Emperor, Akbar and his wife the Rajput princess, Jodhaa were living during the sixteenth century. The whole complex is perfectly kept, it's a place to dream....


The Qawwal of Fatehpur Sikri
Made by प्रतीक
The Salim Chishti Dargah at Akbar’s Jama Masjid brought alive by sufi music. More about the experience on my blog.


1995.1022.007
Made by Hayseed Yokel
Mosque, Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh, India. Viewed from northern end, looking south. Entrance from the courtyard is to the left (east), and prayers point to the wall (west).


Jumping for Rupees
Made by Dave_Davies
This man was jumping from a great height into this old water tank at the magnificent fortified city of Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. I hope the water was cleaner than it looks.


Fatehpur Sikri (फतेहपुर सीकरी) : Panch Mahal
Made by jf garbez
Le palais Panch Mahal et la cour du Pachisi. Fatehpur Sikri, Inde, janvier 2010. Nikon D80, 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 : 52 mm, 1/200 s à f/11, 100 ISO


The Qawwal of Fatehpur Sikri
Made by प्रतीक
Salim Chishti Dargah, Jama Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri. (Blogged)


Fatehpur Sikri (फतेहपुर सीकरी) : Jodh Bai #1
Made by jf garbez
Dans la cour du palais Jodh Bai. Fatehpur Sikri, Inde, janvier 2010. Nikon D80, 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 : 27 mm, 1/125 s à f/11, 100 ISO