On the way to Agra we stopped off at Fatehpur Sikri an imperial palace complex built out of red sandstone by Akbar The Great. Akbar had 3 wives, each of a different faith: Muslim, Hindu and Christian. Each wife had a separate house, bath and gardens within the complex. The Hindu wife had the biggest and most lavish living quarters because she delivered the heir, Jahangir. Fatehpur Sikri , although quite large and beautiful, the red sandstone complex was completely abandoned within a fairly short time because the water in the area was found to be scarce and unsuitable.
The Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience is where Akbar had representatives of different religions discuss their faiths and gave private audience. Akbar would sit on the middle pillar's platform with a representative in each of the 4 corners.
we saw these little guys in every corner of every ceiling. Kinda creepy.
When we got in the car and was preparing to leave, Reece yells "monkey!" (since I still hadnt got used to the fact that Monkeys were a wild and frequent sight in India I grabbed my camera and just started shooting in attempts to to capture the usual fauna...) but on closer inspection I noticed the collar and the leash and I stopped immediately. It was sad to realize this monkey was trapped, forced to do tricks for money on the side of the road. I felt bad. Which wasn't helpped with our jerk of a guide yelling at me for taking a picture.
Our next stop was to the Tomb of Sheik Salim Chisthi, where we entered especially to see the inner tomb with its unique sandalwood canopy inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Salim Chisthi predicted the end of Akbar's childlessness in 1568 and has become a symbol for childless women in search for their own miracles. Supplicants make a wish and tie a small cotton thread to the screen around the tomb.
and then another awkward moment when I bought a peacock fan from a vendor outside of the tomb and was yelled at the entire was to our hotel in Agra by our guide who repeatedly told me I had wasted my money because the was no way I could get that home to America, and I must be stupid. (which was completely wrong as I not only got it home but enjoyed its contribution to my peacock Christmas decorations) Jerk, ruined my experience of first seeing the onion domes of the Taj Mahal towering over the buildings as we drove through Agra to our hotel, an experience I was so excited to have.
I was able to calm down from my frustration as we left him in the car and entered our hotel, the beautiful Oberoi Agra. I loved the decor in our room, and yet another surprise for our continued celebration of our anniversary.
and then I looked out our window.....best view ever!
Reece couldn't pull me away. I sat out on our veranda entranced by the view. To add to the scene out came the kites of the children in the area, flying their colors in the evening breeze.
The sunset wasn't too spectacular as the dust in the atmosphere was too thick. We were told that sunrise was the best time to see the sunlight on the Taj Mahal. So we ordered in our dinner, watched a Bali-wood movie since neither of us had seen one, and then went to bed with our alarm clocks set for 4am so we could have time to get in place to photograph sunrise on the Taj Mahal.
