Day 8: Agra fort then to Jaipur

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We planned to check out after completing the Agra fort tour. We left the hotel around 8:40 after a filling breakfast. The fort is only 15 minutes from the hotel. Nadeem, our guide was as usual very informative, full of quips and stories about that period. Agra Fort is a UNESCO heritage site. Only 25% of the fort is open was visitors and the other 75% that used to allotted for Mughal army at time is occupied now by Indian Army. I have never seen such a big fort and a well planned area for living. There were multiple palaces within that compound for various Mughal kings, queens, harem, priests etc. Court of common man, court of nobles were setup very nicely. View of Taj Mahal from certain privileged rooms were spectacular. There is Yamuna river right behind. The fort has tow layers of moats, one wet with crocodiles and the other that is dry (wild animals) for protection. Lot of the original buildings are intact. People have plundered if it is a semi precious or precious stone work on marbles. Gold has also been removed. This has forced UNESCO to close certain part of the palaces such as sheesh mahal (place of mirrors) etc. Opulence is evident in every corner. We finished our tour around 11 am and then Nadeem took us to a place where 'handmade' carpets are weaved. The person who demonstrated the making of these carpets is a production manager. He explained beautifully about thread counts, density, patterns, softness etc. It is a very big cottage industry in Agra. Two other places that thrive in this business are in Turkey and Iran. Influences of perisan art can be seen in the carpets since the current carpet makers are descendants of original carpet makers during Akbar time. Got back to the hotel, packed and left Agra by 12:20 PM. Fatehpur Sikri is 40 KM from Agra. we reached here by 2 PM. Same type of motorized vehicle takes you close to the monument. There are two parts here. 'Sikri' is the fort and palace built by Akbar to be close to his guru/saint shisti. Fatehpur means 'victory' gate. Akbar built a huge victory gate as an entrance to his guru saint Shisti. He was very devoted to this person since he was blessed with children after he met this guru. These buildings are made of Sandstone. Palaces for all of his three wives are present. The palace for Jodh bhai is spectacular with temples, veg kitchen etc inside. Shisti's is samadhi is in a marble structure. People believe that all the wishes can come true if you pray to him. Lot of folks come here to tie a colored thread on the windows and wish for something that is important to them. The guide here 'Bunty' was so-so. The kids could not understand his accent that well and he was swallowing some keywords as well. About 4:30 pm we left for Jaipur. It would take us about three and a half hours from Sikri. Jaipur Marriott is very close to the Airport in a good location. We were able to get connecting rooms here. These rooms were beautifully decorated with lot of glass and wood. Bathrooms were top notch. We were very hungry and headed to the restaurant 'Saffron'. There was a south indian special going on there. Vatha Kuzhambu, paniyaram, paneer with bay leaves podi, pulav etc. It was interesting to see what we cook at home daily can be packaged this way and sold at premium prices. Bed at 10:30 PM

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