Fatehpur Sikri - neglected city of Akhbar

Shocking state of monuments, an evening walk through the streets of Agra

Today we went to see Fatehpur Sikri, the city built by Akbar in gratitude for the birth of his successor. The famous Sheik Salim Cisti foretold the emperor the birth of his three sons. Akbar began to build a town near Sikri, the place where the saint lived, and planned it as a cultural center of the empire (Fatehpur - means City of Victory). After 14 years the town was abandoned for political reasons and shortage of water. The city consists of buildings of the palace and the Grand Mosque, where the tomb of Sheik Saleem Cisti is placed in the courtyard.

We took a taxi and were traveling for over an hour. When we arrived, the driver suddenly told us that he would arrange a guide for us, and the guide would buy tickets and would lead us everywhere. Something touched me, because I have learned not to take any guides in India. Then the driver tells us that we have to pay 1000 rupees. I was furious, especially as the guide started to rush us. I had to yell at him to stop. A crowd of other guides and swindlers gathered around us, and finally a vendor (who also wanted to take us into his shop) gave us some support. He acknowledged that we should not take any guides, because everywhere are signs with descriptions and guides say nothing more than is written there. We even didn't take a bus that was taking tourists for 5 rupees to the very walls of the city, for what? A short walk was quite nice, especially since we had rarely a chance to walk longer distances, without being prodded to take some other transportation means.

First we went to the Mosque. The main gate, Bulanda Darwaza, surprised me with a huge number of hives of wild bees, which at first seemed to me to be huge mushrooms. I do not know why no one takes them off, as obviously they destroy slowly the vault of the gate. The beehives are also hanging in other gates . The mosque is in a very poor condition and looks a bit like a ruin.

The city is a set of empty, raw buildings, whose function has long been forgotten. So one walks there as if among some rocks, which look great. There are gardens in the spaces between the buildings, where you can relax. Behind the city walls, the hips of rubbish and further ruins probably related to the historic city, are stretched up to the main street.

The state of conservation of monuments in Agra is frightening, considering how many tourists come here and how much they pay. Monuments of such greatness and excellence deserve better treatment and more attentive care. Currently, most of them are considered to be ruins and is secured only so that it does not totally collapse.

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