We decided to break up the drive to Jaipur with a stop at Fatehpur Sikri (and here), the erstwhile capital of Mughal Emperor Akbar. We didn't get to see everything, because we wanted to arrive in Jaipur at a reasonable hour, but we did spend a couple of hours wandering around the 16th century sandstone city.
Samuel noticed that the van that was to take us up to the site needed a driver, so he quickly took control of the situation. That's my boy! Our fellow tourists (from Dubai, Europe and around India) were pretty amused, and Samuel wasn't too happy when the real driver showed up and he had to give up the seat of power.
My knowledge of Mughal India is limited, but I think Akbar was pretty smart. He was the third Mughal emperor (son of Humayun) and the first to build a permanent residence in India. He was more than tolerant of other faiths, actually intrigued by them, and his 36 wives were of many faiths and ethnicities. So he was ahead of his time, in a way (except for the 36 wives part). His principal wife was a Hindu princess from Amber. We actually visited her former home, Amber Fort, on our first full day in Jaipur. Another of his favored wives was Maryam, a Christian woman from Goa.
Since our time was short, we decided to spend our time in the palace complex. This is the exterior of the Diwan-i-Kass (hall of private audience) or the Jewel House. No one is sure what it was really used for, but some say he might have kept gemstones here. Others say he used it to listen to advisers or scholars debate.
One of the mysteries of the building is this amazing pillar right in the center of the room. It has a platform on top and four walkways leading from the center to platforms in the corners. The jewel theorists say he used it to look down on his riches. The debate theorists say he sat in the center and listened to debaters in the four corners.
Most of the windows in the complex are covered with carved sandstone screens.
Here we are sitting in the emperor's seat overlooking the Peerless Pool. I don't know if you can see it in my shadowy face, but I'm scared to death that Samuel's going to jump over the edge. We're on the second story of the building with no guardrails. Come to think of it, I spent much of this trip trying to keep Samuel from leaping to his death ...
The same seat without us cluttering it up ...
A lot of the palace complex was taken up by the harem, where there were small palaces for three favored wives (a Hindu, a Muslim, and a Christian) and Jodh Bai's Palace, or Haram Sara, for everyone else. There's only one entrance to the Haram Sara, which has lots of small and medium sized apartments facing a central courtyard. All the windows and balconies were covered in sandstone screens so the women could watch what was happening in the public courtyards, but no one could see them. Their lives sound like a mix of luxury (for the time) and absolute boredom. Yet another reason I'm glad I'm an American woman in the 21st century. I don't think I could have handled any other time or place.
Here's Evie, my little 21st century princess, ignoring some admirers in the Haram Sara.
I love that these sites are open for exploration, rather than roped off and saved for experts only. Well, except for the safety issues. Here's Samuel under a gorgeously carved arch. The detail is amazing and our camera stinks. You'll have to go see it in person to get the full effect.
Here's one of the Haram Sara's balconies from the exterior. See? A gilded cage. Akbar had a screened walkway that allowed him private access to each of the harem's palaces.
Here we are under the Panch Mahal, which was meant to be a cool refuge during the crazy hot summers.
In this photo you can just see the Pachisi courtyard, where some of the stones (in white, with the bench in the center) are laid out to look like a pachisi game board. The legend is that Akbar played the game using slave girls as game pieces. Remember when I said he was ahead of his time? I might take that back.
This screened balcony is where Akbar sat in the hall of public audiences (Diwan-i-Am) to meet the commoners and "mete out justice," as all the guidebooks put it.
Fatehpur Sikri was a great stop, despite the heat and the bat infestation, and we probably could have stayed there all day and been perfectly happy. But Jaipur was calling! It was still a four-hour drive from Fatehpur Sikri, but we saw some great stuff along the way.
Weird vehicles full of smiling men ...
... cows, sheep, goats and their herders ...
... pack camels with their babies along for the walk ...
... a peacock dancing for his mate (how the driver spotted this from the highway, I'll never know) ...
... and several camel trains.
Next stop, Amber Fort!
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