Last stop of our Indian trip: Agra and Fathepur Sikri, two ancient king-cities, memories of the ancient Mongol empire.

Fathepur Sikri

The main door of Fathepur’s mosque , the biggest in India!

Fathepur Sikri was build from nothing by Akbar, Indian emperor and the biggest Mongol figure in Asia. This palace was used for only 15 years, the water supply being much more drastic than expected. This place is huge: Akbar having three wives (one Hindi, one Muslim and one Christian), he created within the walls three distinct palaces for each of them. Add one of the biggest mosque in India, his own personal apartments, stables for an entire army, and all the structures a city like this requires, and you got Fathepur Sikri.

Huge stables for camels, elephants, horses…

You can find hundreds of windows like these in Agra, and each pattern is unique

Good idea if you’re a chess player: Akbar used to play chess in the palace’s gardens, but  with nude women from his harem as pawns… Lovely game!

The Taj Mahal

Next to Fathepur, we visited Agra, second capital of the Mongol empire: known by every tourists and Indians, this is the Taj Mahal’s city, most emblematic symbol of India. It’s also the most impressive and beautiful monument we saw in this country.

The incredibleness of the Taj Mahal discovers itself from the obscurity of the main door

The mausoleum, built by king Shah Jahan in 1653 for his beloved deceased wife, reveals itself and its magnificence, surrounded by a light fog. The view is literally breathtaking! 

And to protect this monument all in marble, don’t forget to wear your shoes covers!

Agra Fort

Agra Fort, about 2.5 km northwest of the Taj Mahal, represents also a big part of the Mongol History: Biggest fort in India, it was the capital of the Mongol empire after the desertion of Fathepur Sikri. Several of the buildings are made of pure marble with beautiful carvings. To cool off the rooms in the marble pavilions, the walls were hollow and filled with running water (The AC was quite expensive in 1800).

Agra is a magnificent city, and our last stop in Rajasthan: Next and ultimate Indian city, Delhi! We’ll keep you posted 😉

Bonus: this monkey’s got some balls