Oddly, it was only occupied for about 15 years and then abandoned, rumored because of lack of water. The structures were grand, to day the least. It seems like everything the Mughal's built was huge and intricate. It seems incredibly wasteful that they would make such a place and then leave it. Throughout the complex there were many room and courtyards. The rooms were all decorated, there was one that had animal fight scenes on the bottom panels, but for some reason all of the heads of the animals were missing. It looked as though they had been chiseled off. We couldn't figure out why. In one of the main court yards, there was a giant Parcheesi board. In the middle was a raised platform for the players to stand on. And then other people would be the pieces. In my mind, it's like Wizard's chess in Harry Potter.
The whole complex used to have rugs, curtains, and tapestries hung on the walls and door ways. There was also running water though a lot of the rooms. This created a sort of air conditioning. There were also large bath houses that were filled and used by royal families. It was preserved to the point that we could, in some small way, imagine what it was like there, over 500 years ago.
After we left Fatehpur Sikri we walked over the the mosque it is connected to. Jama Masjid. We were there the day before Eid (A Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan) so we were told that we had a different experience than most days of the year. Apparently it can be quite peaceful and quiet. It was chaos while we were there. Most of the chaos came from vendors following people around vigorously trying to get us to buy their goods. After getting through the mini mob be got to the center part of the court yard which had the tomb of a Sufi saint. It was in a large white fancy building. We took off our shoes and covered our heads to go in. The walls were all carved marble so you could see out into the courtyard through the carvings. On the designs people were tying red strings, from which I understood, was a wish being made.
We went back to the chaos that was the Jama Masjid courtyard. We walked around for a little bit, looking at the incredible architecture that was used by the Mughals as an expression of religious devotion. We eventually wandered over to the entrance used by the majority of people in the 1500's (we came in the entrance that was used by the emperor and royal family). The general entrance, opposed to the royal one, had was a long, incredibly steep staircase. There were goats hanging out all over it, and what appeared to be a marked on the street below. We had to go back through the courtyard one more time. The vendors were seemingly increasing in intensity. No matter how much we emphasized that we were not interested, they were determined to sell us things. Some people bargained with them and found things they liked.
This is Andrew. He is trying to escape the bombardment. With grace of course.
After we left, we were in the van on our way to the next place which was a good 40 minutes away. So of course I fell asleep. I was woken up by come commotion from people in the group. I woke up and looked out the window where everyone's attention seemed to be. I saw a little bit of a mass of people, but we were passing it as I was waking up. Turns out, it was people protesting Terry Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center who had plans to burn Qurans on September 11th in protest of "Muslim extremists" (http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/09/07/florida.quran.burning/index.html?iref=NS1#fbid=RTwPrGrYaPF&wom=true) Apparently the church's idea of reaching out to the world includes creating violence and rifts between peoples.
Next, we went to Emperor Akbar's tomb, also known as Sikandra Fort. Akbar built it for himself, and it was finished by his son, Emperor Jehangir. The structure itself is all red and white, with very detailed designs, giving it a really interesting feel. It seemed a lot different than any of the other monuments we saw.
Not only did it appear different, but it had crazy acoustics. There were domes that if stood under, someone could clap or make a noise in the area and it would be magnified and projected to right under the center of the dome. There were also places where people could stand in opposite corners, about 15 feet apart, and whisper towards the wall. The sounds would travel up around the dome and down the opposite corner and everything that we said could be clearly heard by the other party. There was a nice woman employed to show us these things.
Next we stopped at the hotel to drop our stuff off (we stayed in this swanky place), and then 7 of us decided to go on the Taj Mahal nature walk. Our teacher hadn't ever been on it, because it is a relatively new addition. We got in our van and got as close as we could. Unfortunately it was raining. We waited in the van for a while, and then decided to just go for it. A couple of us shared umbrellas because not everyone brought them. It took us a while to find the entrance, and by the time we found it, it had stopped raining, which was nice. Our teacher convinced the ticket people that we should only have to buy three tickets because there was less than an hour until it closed. We were walking along, just chatting and enjoying being in green areas and not in urban craziness. There were also peacocks in the trees, of which Lauren and Andrew decided to call to. They had a nice chat. And then we stumbled upon this.
It was incredible to have the canopy of trees, and the low laying fog, and then this massive, beautiful structure that seemed to be a part of the environment. Although being at the Taj was incredible, this was my favorite way to view it. It seemed so natural and magnificent. We pretended we were explorers stumbling upon this mountainous white building. It was pretty great.
I love this picture of the Taj. Good Job. Love, Mom
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