We stopped halfway between Agra and Jaipur to view yet another fort, Fatepur Sikri. The parking lot was a short, very hot ride from the entrance and then the 20 metre walk from the bus to the ticket office was filled with offer after offer from "government licensed" guides. Our best offer came from a young man who said that if we hired him, we wouldn't be bothered by any others. That said, I wouldn't have minded an audio guide because we really had little idea what we were looking at.
Although, the fort wasn't a whole lot different from all the other forts we had send. Basically, red pavilions on platforms contained within a walled compound bereft of all decorations and with no attempt to recreate the lifestyle of the time, no carpets, furniture, pottery or tools. Just stone and marble and heat. We had to leave the palace complex to visit the local mosque involving a whole other level of harassment. We suffered more offers to guide, this time from children and, in particular, a child of 6 or 7 who followed us around for out entire journey. Unfortunately for him, he had Nicola to contend with and she wasn't going to reward pestering. This mosque too is a large walled compound. Around the outside, next to the wall were a number of graves with tombs not unlike those found in European churches with a coffin raised on a platform but without any engraving or decoration. The same could be said of the coffins for Shah Jahan and his wife in the Taj. The central mosque was made entirely of marble, small in size requiring the usual taking off of the shoes. I was surprised to get into the complex with shorts (there was a sign at the entrance stating that shorts were not allowed.) Now, there was an old guy ushering me into this beautiful marble mosque. Nicola and Jordan were invited in as well. A holy man with a whisk looking thing placed it on our heads and blessed us. There was a donation box but there were no requests that we add to it. I did anyway. We were careful to walk on the mats on the way out as the stones on the courtyard were incredibly hot. Children pestered us all the way back to the bus stop where they mustn't have been welcome.
Notice the water here. Not found in other forts although equally hot (or hotter)
Mosque
Lovely children following Nicola and Jordan.
It was another couple of hours on the bus to Jaipur punctuated by a meal break at a restaurant designed for bus tours. Tables were lined in long rows, the food was Carolyn and expensive and they sold junk souvenirs, much of it from Africa of all places. The driver had some problem finding the hotel and resorted to his usual method of asking people on the street and tuk tuk drivers if he can find them. .
Our hotel was over the top with flower designs in every wall (I mean literally) seating areas in everyone of the many, many hallways and corridors and large, elaborate rooms with large, elegantly carved wood furniture. The rooftop restaurant where we had inner was similarly decorated with little pavilions with room enough for a table for four. We sat at one it these where the waiter turned on the overhead fan which was nice considering the heat however it was so noisy, we had to turn it off.
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