Road trip: Āgra to Dhula Village

Last night there was an engagement party in the hotel and they were blasting music. I was ready to throw down and have a rumble but eventually Som convinced them to turn it down. 

Poor Som was pressured by the group this morning to stop our van at a morning coffee spot. It took 45 mins and I'm sure it made us late. We Whiteys sure are addicted to our morning coffee. 

Our destination this morning was Fatehpur Sīkri.

This is a magnificent red sandstone fort city that was once the capital of India's Mughal Empire and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Our tour guide Bab-loo, gave us the history. King Akbar (Mr. Great Great) built three palaces for each of his favourite wives—a Hindu, a Muslim, and a Christian—in the city. This is so the wives would't get jealous of each other. But he had 400 concubines, too... that he used as live parcheesi pieces in the courtyard. 

Anyway, this place didn't last long as a palace. There is a water shortage here so, after only 4 years, Akbar packed up and moved his entourage to Āgra. 

Oh!  One last tidbit about this place. Akbar held public hearings in the courtyard. If someone was found guilty of a bad crime, he'd sentence them to death. This entailed laying one's head on a rock and having it crushed by an elephant. Here's the rock:

Today is Eid al-Fitr, which is a Festival of Breaking the Fast - the end of Ramadan. There were many people stopping to ask for pictures. One little lady with henna on her hands grabbed me and insisted on a selfie with me. It kept happening the whole visit. I eventually turned the tables and insisted on getting a picture with them. 

As a thank you for choosing this tour, Som gave us a small gift of a sundial-type keychain that has all the days of the calendar from 2024-2060. And I thought I needed a watch. Nope. 

We stopped on our travels for a buffet lunch. Vegetarian food is very popular here. Lentils, chickpeas, rice, naan. It's all very good but I jump on meat anytime it's available. Obviously, beef is hard to come by but the chicken is good. Som told us to avoid the fish. Check! 

- Ruth