Fatehpur Sikri, India

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I took the morning train to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. It is preferable to visit the Taj at sunrise when there are less people and the sun makes dazzling color changes on the white marble of the structure. Rather than waste the afternoon I took a one-hour bus ride (30 cents) to Fatehpur Sikri.

The Mughal empire was one of the most successful reigns in India. They captured most of the Indian subcontinent and presided over a golden age of arts and literature. The founder of the Mughal line was Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan. He invaded India in 1525. Babar and his son had some successes and defeats. It wasn't until his grandson Akbar (1556-1605) that the empire was consolidated.

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Akbar is considered to be the greatest of the Mughals, not only because of his military might but because of his fair and open-minded rule. Past rulers tried to force Islam on its constituents. Akbar saw that there were too many Hindus in India to successfully subjugate them. Instead he integrated them into his empire and even used some as advisors. (He also was not a saint. He was known for some of the bloodiest massacres as well.)

Akbar was Muslim, but he had Christian and Hindu wives in his harem. Although he had all these wives, he was having trouble getting a male heir to the throne. One day he visited a Sufi (mystic sect of Islam) saint in the town of Sikri. This saint predicted that Akbar would have a male heir. Once the prophecy came true, Akbar decided to build his new capital in Sikri and called it Fatehpur Sikri (1571-1585).

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Akbar invented a philosophy known as Din-i-llahi (Faith of God), asserting the common truth in all religions. He must have been the first Unitarian, before it was popular! Fatehpur Sikri was to be the "perfect city" designed as a physical description of Din-i-llahi (Faith of God). It was built in typical Mughal Islamic style. All of his people were moved to the new capital. A community of intellectuals from many different religions was created to debate there.

Unfortunately, the city was built in the desert far from a river. Despite the efforts of his engineers, the city suffered from water shortages. Once Akbar died all the people left the "perfect city". Now it is a ghost town for tourists to wander about.

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It is a beautiful place and definitely worth the visit. It was my understanding that buses ran to Agra every half hour until 7pm. I went to the bus stop at 4:30pm. I waited for two hours and no bus appeared! So I was stranded at the "perfect city" in the desert! Oh India! So I collected 10 other stranded tourists and we hired a jeep to drive us back to Agra.

*All history in this blog is from Lonely Planet