Monday, February 20, 2012

Fathepur Sikri, the Ghost Town

We visited the historic city of Fathepur Sikri on our way from Jaipur to Agra. The city is at a distance of 40 kms from Agra. Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1570 started the construction of this glorious fort city. He shifted his capital to here from Agra and ruled from here till 1585. He had to move out of this place due to severe water scarcity in the region.

This ancient city showcases the fine blend of Indian, Persian and Mughal architectural influences. The fort complex was constructed using sandstone. The complex has several pavilions which were arranged geometrically. Each of the monuments here have distinct styles and architectural designs. There are many interesting monuments and gates in the complex.

Some of them are:

As this well persevered royal city of 16th century was abandoned within 14 years of its existence, it is known as Ghost Town.

This place was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

65 comments:

Carver said...

That looks like a beautiful and interesting place to visit.

Carol @ Always Thyme to Cook said...

That is a very well preserved Ghost Town, it's beautiful.

Lorrie said...

India has such interesting architecture. And those shrubs in the park are clipped just so.

Pondside said...

What a fabulous place! No wonder it has World Heritage designation.

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

I enjoyed learning about this royal city. Thanks for sharing. Visiting from mosaic Monday

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Interesting place! Good pictures.

Pie said...

Great shots!

My Blue Monday.

Travel France Online said...

I like the formal gardens in the last shot...so unexpected!

Pat said...

I have so many photos of this place...if you write me on my email link under My Profile, I'll send you the links to my own India photos.

I loved Fathepur Sikri...the name itself is so exotic to me.

eileeninmd said...

Wonderful shots, I love the family group shot. Have a great day!

Jeevan said...

Interesting... the place is unique. Wonderful capture!

joo said...

What a beautiful place!

Lowell said...

That's the most gorgeous ghost town I've ever seen. Wow! Almost paradisaical.

And I'm guessing that beautiful group of people are members of your family!

LV said...

Enjoyed the tour of this interesting place. The family groupings are very nice.

Anonymous said...

What an experience that must have been to visit a place built in the 1500's! Amazing!

Wonderful group shots, everyone looks so happy! =)

Liz said...

Lovely pics!

My entry:
Moms...Check Nyo

Maria @ LSS said...

Wonderful photos.

joshi daniel said...

beautiful!

Sylvia K said...

What a beautiful place, Rajesh! I do love the last shot! I would enjoy spending some time there! Superb captures as always! Have a great week!

Sylvia

Unknown said...

A pretty elaborate ghost town!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Sallie (FullTime-Life.com said...

Interesting place. I somehow never thought of Ghost Towns in India. We have visited a few in the Western States here in the US (our ghosts are younger than your ghosts ;>).

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

It looks very beautful for a Ghost town! You have a lovely family, Rajesh

Barb said...

Hi Rajesh, Great family photos! Thank you for the information about this World Heritage site. It must be a huge complex!

Indrani said...

The place seems to be well maintained.

Marianne C. said...

Hello, Rajesh...

Those structures must be magnificent in person. The history lesson was interesting, and to think that a place with so much work put into it was abandoned only 14 years afterward...amazing.

I think it's wonderful to visit old sites because it gives one a sense of the people who lived then.

Enjoy a beautiful day,
Marianne

P.N. Subramanian said...

Nice info.I love the place and I have done an elaborate post on Fatehpur Sikri in my Hindi blog quite some time back.

LadyFi said...

What fun pictures!

Hootin Anni said...

Wow....this was such a wonderful, informative, post with fantastic photos.

My Tuesday Link: MARDI GRAS 'FAT TUESDAY' Come on over and enjoy the celebration if you can.

Teamgsquare said...

Wow , nice place and wonderful pictures.

Leovi said...

Very beautiful photos, I love those delicious family photos with the monuments in the background. Beautiful. Greetings.

LifeRamblings said...

the Ghost town looks like an interesting place to explore. lovely family portraits.

alicesg said...

Lovely place to visit with the family. Nice family photos.

Magia da Inês said...

Esses monumentos são lindos e únicos.
Boa semana!° 。
° 。 °
˚●/° 。
/▌•˛ ˚
/ \ 。 °
˚ ˛ ° 。

anthonynorth said...

A beautifully planned place.

abhinavr said...

Nice photos and narration.

Roger Owen Green said...

So beautiful

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

George said...

This 'Ghost Town' is remarkably well preserved and absolutely beautiful. It must be a marvelous place to visit.

Annie said...

So much interesting and beautiful architecture - love seeing your photos.

photowannabe said...

This certainly looks like a well preserved ghost town. Very interesting.

Leah H. said...

Wow, such a beautiful place!

Visiting from Rt2- hope you can stop by:)

http://www.heavenly-dreams.com/2012/02/super-baby-snowsuit.html

Al said...

Very beautiful, it's a shame it had to be abandoned.

Jama said...

That looks like a gorgeous place to visit, nothing ghostly about it!

JANU said...

Its a beautiful palace-fort...have been there.

Eden said...

What a beautiful place to visit! Great shots.

MaR said...

Always fascinating posts and beautiful shots.

RIZALENIO said...

Beautiful family photos with a backdrop of wonderful temple. :)

Joy said...

Beautiful, sandstone is my favourite building material.

The Poet said...

Hello.
I'm always intrigued by your journeys & photos. These are some great shots.
Thanks for sharing.

A Flower In My Mirror

Raj said...

You brought back my BITS Pilani days when I visited this place and was awestruck by its architecture. Brilliant captures. :) Made me nostalgic.

My Unfinished Life said...

am more intrigued by faterhour sikri than taj mahal!!

http://sushmita-smile.blogspot.in/

Rajesh said...

Thank you all for appreciating this architectural beauty. People in the images are my family and friends.

ajeethboaz said...

Interesting to know, Thanks for sharing...[www.photoblog.ajeethboaz.com]

Sahithya Sridhar said...

it definetly is a beautiful place...:)

Panchali said...

amazing architecture...beautiful shots!Been there many years ago...

Siddhartha Joshi said...

Some really nice shots here...

D.Nambiar said...

That's some impressive architecture.

Shrinidhi Hande said...

why is it called Ghost town?

Meoww said...

Lovely place in History! Nice snaps

ArjunaUbacha said...

Nice pictures and description.

TTT said...

seems like a great place to visit ! beautiful pics

Unknown said...

I did not know, it was declared ghost town, Nice pictures :)

Bhavana said...

One of the places I still need to visit..lovely pics and descrip!

Rajesh said...

Thank you all for appreciating this place.

Hande: It is called "Ghost Town" as it was abandoned within 14 years of use due to several problems.

Unknown said...

Life size Museum of Architecture and Planning... Lesson in what not to do in Urban Design.
If there is no water what an emperor could do?

Unknown said...

Did you find the harem there? It is already a known fact. When I first visited the place as a student of architecture, our professors didn't tell us about it.