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Fatehpur Sikri was the imperial city of the Mughal dynasty between 1571 and 1584. Built by the Mughal emperor Akbar, this royal city is one of a kind. The architectural grandeur of this deserted city cannot be described in words and one can only experience the aura of its magnificent edifices by seeing them.

The buildings within Fatehpur Sikri are a unique blend of different architectural traditions. Though the general layout and concept of the buildings conform to the Islamic style of architecture, the actual buildings (mainly palaces), their ornate columns, arches, carving style, etc., show a strong Hindu style in general and that of Gujarat and Rajasthan in particular.

Fatehpur Sikri
Akbar was the greatest of all the Mughal rulers and one of the best to have ruled India. In 1556, he ascended the Mughal throne at the tender age of 14, after the sudden demise of his father, Humayun. As soon as he consolidated his power, he turned his attention towards building an imperial capital in Agra. The result was the Agra Fort, which not only served military purposes, but was also the royal residence. Most of the buildings within the precincts of this magnificent Red Fort are a mixture of different architectural styles. The unique integration of these different styles has given the buildings and palaces within the fort a distinctive look. The assimilation of the different architectural styles was the reflection of the period of prosperity and social tolerance, which was the hallmark of Akbar’s administration. However, in the course of time, Akbar decided to shift his capital to Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. Akbar used to visit the hamlet of Sikri to take the blessings of the great Sufi saint Salim Chisti in order to have an heir to his throne. Akbar’s visitations were fruitful, for he was blessed with three sons. The new city, built on a ridge, grew into a magnificent township larger than contemporary London.

At Sikri the various royal palaces have been built in Gujarati and Rajasthani architectural styles, using trabeate construction ornate columns, fanciful jali work (intricately perforated decorative stone screens) sumptuous carving and surface ornamentation. These small palaces are largely a sequence of connected rectangular courtyards; these are aligned with the polar axes and so have to be grouped in a staggered formation across, the top of the narrow diagonal ridge. The overwhelmingly Hindu architectural vocabulary, however, cannot conceal the Islamic norms followed in the large-scale planning that is supposed to have derived from Arab and Central Asia tent compartments!

Diwan-I-Aam
As one enters Sikri from the Agra Gate, one of the nine gateways on the way to the palace complex, Diwani-I-Aam, or the hall of public audience appears first. It is a huge rectangular walled-in courtyard where petitions were heard, proclamations made, embassies received and entertainment programs held. The royal balcony, set within a frame of jail screens, appears on the western front. In front of the royal seat, a stone hook is still found embedded in the ground. As per tradition, Akbar's pet elephant Hiran was tied to this hook to crush to death under its feet the head of the guilty. If it refused to obey thrice, the victim was freed.

Diwan-I-Khas
The royal enclosure lies behind the Diwan-I-Aam. At the northern corner stands a small but grand single-storey structure of Diwan-I-Khas with the most magnificently sculptured and most photographed stone column at the center of the hall. It bursts forth into a set of 36 closely set vaulted and pendulous brackets supporting a circular platform from which radiate four passages. Is it really the famous Ibadat-Khana where Akbar initiated religious discourses amongst diverse religious groups-Hindu, Muslim, Jain, and Jesuit etc?

Panch Mahal
Panch Mahal, a five storeyed pavilion, stands on the western line of the courtyard. This is the badgir, the Persian wind tower for ladies of the harem. The jail screens between the 176 differently carved pillars have disappeared. Once these screens provided purdah (cover) to queens and princess on the top terraces enjoying the cool breezes and watching splendid views of Sikri fortifications and the town nestling at the foot of the ridge. In the courtyard Akbar played pachisi (checker board) with dancing girls as live pieces.

Jama Masjid
The mosque at Sikri was the first structure to be built in 1571. The exterior is modest but the interior carries the most gorgeous ornamentation in the floral arabesques and ingenious geometrical patterns in brown, red, turquoise, black and white. The spacious courtyard adds a stately charm to the place. It could accommodate ten thousand men at prayer. Akbar was so enthusiastic about this mosque that he occasionally swept the floor and gave azan (call for prayer). On June 26, 1579, Akbar even read the khutba himself, a great innovation, earlier attempted only the Timur and Mirza Ulugh Beg.

Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chisti
In 1580-81 eighty years after the saint died in 1572, Akbar built the tomb in red sandstone. In 1606, Qutubuddin Khan Koka, on orders from Jehangir, covered the edifice in white marble. Much later in 1866, a district magistrate of Agra replaced the plaster dome with white marble. The magnificence of the splendid jail screens carved out of huge marble slabs shows a rare perfection of craftsmanship. The dramatic serpentine brackets supporting the wide chajja on all four sides of the edifice have an amazing grace. The real grave lies in an undisturbed repose in the crypt, closed to visitors. Women devotees longing for a child come here and tie a colored thread to the jails. In a gesture of thankfulness they come back when their wish is granted.

Buland Darwaza
Buland Darwaza, the colossal triumphal arch, was built in 1575 on the southern wall of the courtyard. It celebrates Akbar's conquest of Gujarat. The towering portal has the height of 176 feet from ground level and 134 feet over the top step. The grand recessed central arch is the most magnificent of its kind in the entire range of Mughal architecture in India. Modest ornamentation with calligraphy contains a famous line: The world is but a bridge: Pass over but build no houses on it. The Buland Darwaza commands the landscape for miles.