On the road again. Our goal tonight is the Rabthanbore Tiger Reserve. But to get there, a couple of stops for a good Indian history lesson. Fatehpur Sikri was founded in 1569 by the Mughal emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585. Curiously, it was abandoned soon after it was completed due to lack of water (poor planning I might add), and the northern marauders were closing in. Very impressive still since it was abandoned in such pristine condition and forgotten. All in red sandstone. Very different sandstone from what we have seen in the US. Hard, doesn’t erode easily.
Chand Baori is a huge, deep ‘stepwell’. Common in this part of the world. Part water source and part air conditioning. It consists of 3,500 narrow steps over 13 stories deep. It extends approximately 100 ft into the ground making it one of the deepest and largest stepwells in India. As mentioned, it provided water in this arid area, and because it was about 6 degrees cooler down there, on one side it has a pavilion and resting room for the royals. Again, amazing. Oh, it was build in 9th century!
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