Samaranand's take: Fatehpur Sikri, a creation of Emperor Akbar

Fatehpur Sikri (Hindi: फ़तेहपुर सीकरी, is a city in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city was founded in 1569 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585, when it was abandoned. After his military victories over Chittor and Ranthambore, Akbar decided to shift his capital from Agra to a new location 23 miles (37 km) west south-west on the Sikri ridge, to honour the Sufi saint Salim Chishti. Here, he commenced the construction of a planned walled city, which took the next fifteen years in planning and construction, with a series of royal palaces, harem, courts, a mosque, private quarters and other utility buildings. He named the city Fatehabad, with Fateh, a word of Arabic origin in Persian, meaning "victorious." It was later called Fatehpur Sikri. It is at Fatehpur Sikri that the legends of Akbar and his famed courtiers, the nine jewels or Navaratnas, were born. Fatehpur Sikri is one of the best preserved examples of Mughal architecture in India.

According to contemporary historians, Akbar took a great interest in the building of Fatehpur Sikri and probably also dictated its architectural style. Seeking to revive the splendours of Persian court ceremony made famous by his ancestor Timur, Akbar planned the complex on Persian principles. But the influences of his adopted land came through in the typically Indian embellishments. The easy availability of sandstone in the neighbouring areas of Fatehpur Sikri also meant that all the buildings here were made of the red stone. The Imperial Palace complex consists of a number of independent pavilions arranged in formal geometry on a piece of level ground, a pattern derived from Arab and central Asian tent encampments. In its entirety, the monuments at Fatehpur Sikri thus reflect the genius of Akbar in assimilating diverse regional architectural influences within a holistic style that was uniquely his own.

The above description is from Wikipedia, after our Taj Mahal visit of 13th October,2016 we proceeded to Fatehpur Sikri next day 14th October by road. a drive of about two and half hours.

This place has two part visit itinerary, Fatehpur is the walled city with dargah of Salim Chisti, Jama Masjid and Buland Darwaza. One has to go barefooted and we did that in scorching sun.Most of the time we walked in shades. We were duped by a guide in purchasing costly chaddar to spread on the mazhar of Chisit,so advise to visitor to be careful of guides.

Here are the pictures of Fatehpur.

The marble structure of Dargah of Salim Chisti

Omu,Shuvo in lungi because he was in shorts and shorts not allowed inside the dargah,me,Purnima,Bula and Ronny

Courtyard of Chisti Dargah

The Grave of Chisti with our chaddar

Omu tied thread to fulfill his mannat

Me,S N Roy at Dargah of Salim Chisti

Dargah of Salim Chisti

The Mughal Emperor Akbar came to Chishti's home in Sikri to ask him to pray for a male heir to the throne. Chishti blessed Akbar, and soon the first of three sons was born to him. He named his first son Salim (later emperor Jahangir) in honor of Chishti.^[1] A daughter of Sheikh Salim Chishti was the foster mother of Emperor Jahangir. The emperor was deeply attached to his foster mother, as reflected in the Jahangirnama^[2] and he was extremely close to her son Qutb-ud-din Khan Koka who was made the governor of Bengal and his descendants are still to be found in Sheikhupur, Badaun.

Akbar held the Sufi in such high regard that he had a great city Fatehpur Sikribuilt around his camp.

This is from Wikipedia.

Meena bazar in Buland Darwaza complex

Buland Darwaza as a backdrop,Shuvo,Ronny,me,Bula,Omu and Purnima

Buland Darwaza from outside

Bula,Omu,Shuvo and Purnima with Buland Darwaza as a backdrop

Buland darwaza and Jama Masjid

Buland Darwaza (Hindi: बुलंद दरवाज़ा, Urdu: بُلند دروازه‎,^[1] pronounced [ˈbʊlənd̪ d̪ərˈʋaːzaː]), or the "Gate of Magnificence", was built in 1576 A.D. by Akbar to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. It is the main entrance to the palace at Fatehpur Sikri, a town which is 43 km from Agra, India.^[2]^[3]

Buland Darwaza is the highest gateway in the world and is an example of Mughal architecture. It displays Akbar's empire.^[4]^[5]

From Wikipedia

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Sikri is the second part of the visit to the great walled city of 16th century. To enter this place one has to purchase ticket and one needs guide to explain the historical significance.

While walking through this sandstone edifice of thousands of square meters i was trying to imagine that in the late 16th century this place was once treaded by Akbar, his Hindu wife Jodha or Marium, his navaratnas like Birbal, Tansen etc. Yes it is history all around created by the most secular Mughal emperor Akbar who tried to bring a new religion Deen ey Ilahi which was mixture of Hindu and Muslim religion. After coming here one realises that he created most of the Mughal structures visible in India. The Agra red fort is his creation and many other structures of Agra which was the capital of Mughals then were created by him barring for Taj Mahal. A distinct Persian architecture of influence of Indian culture is visible.

Here are some of the pictures of Sikri, It was a scorching hot afternoon and i was thinking that if Tansen would have been there then i would have requested him to sing Raag Megh Mallahar to bring rain, as per the legends he could do that, he could even light fire by singing Raag Deepak.