This sight is located in Agra, India. For travel information about Agra, read the Agra Travel Guide. To prepare for a trip to India, read also the India Travel Guide. Looking for budget accommodation? Use AsiaExplorers Budget Accommodation Guide, the no-frills website to cover your budget accommodation needs.
Emperor Akbar of the Mughal Dynasty designed his own tomb, which is located at Sikandra, 12km northwest of Agra. It is said that Akbar designed and started construction of his own mausoleum but after he died, his son and successor Jahangir modified the designed and completed it for him. The result is an impressive, perfectly symmetrical complex with the tomb located in the centre of a huge garden.
The main gateway is located at the south. It is built of magnificent red sandstone with a colossal central arch finished with polychrome mosaic inlaid with white marble, black slate and other coloured stones. Four marble minarets grace the gateway. A stone causeway leads to the tomb diving the garden into four quardrants, similar to his father Humayun's Tomb in Delhi. Each quadrant has its own fountain and sunken pool, reflecting the Mughal idea of paradise.
The main tomb differs in design from Humayun's tomb. The first three storeys comprise red sandsone pavillions. Above them are marble-screen terraces enclosing the tomb replica, which is adorned with a profusion of floral and arabesque carvings. The real tomb is located in a crypt immediately below it - a design that was copied later for the Taj Mahal.
The perfect symmetry of the entrance to Akbar's Mausoleum at Sikandra.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the opportunity to explore the world, to document, to photograph, and to share the information with you. My name is Tim, I'm the writer of this website, and I want to tell you how grateful I am for your visit. This is one of over a dozen websites that I write - you can click my thumbnail photo above to randomly visit any one of them. All my photos are available for commercial printing - find out the photo usage rights here. If you wish to share you photos on this website, upload them to www.panoramio.com and send the URL to me for consideration. And, if you'd like to correspond with me, send your mails to my address as shown below:
About the Author: AsiaExplorers is researched and written by Timothy Tye. We take reasonable care to check and verify the accuracy of the content. However, we disclaim any responsibility for any inconvenience, mishap, injury or death resulting from following the advice provided directly or indirectly by AsiaExplorers and the comments on its pages. All the photographs in AsiaExplorers are available for publication. Please contact AsiaExplorers at the following email address for your enquiries:
