SIKANDRA (AKBAR'S MAUSOLEUM)
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A mausoleum of red sandstone inlaid with white marble, featuring a pleasant garden with a peacock, a crypt and more.
Emperor Akbar himself designed the mausoleum in which he is buried. The construction of this red sandstone building inlaid with white marble began in 1602 and was completed by Jahangir, the emperor's son, in 1613. Fans of Mughal architecture will note the evolution of style to be placed between the mausoleum of Humayun and that of Shah Jahan.
Flanked by four minarets, the door is entirely covered with a geometric mosaic of marble inlaid in red sandstone. You will note the introduction of a Hindu swastika: this swastika that is found everywhere in India and is, in the country, a symbol of good omen. Once the door is crossed, you discover a pleasant garden in which it is not rare to cross a peacock, lucky animal in India. In the center, stands the last mausoleum of the Mughal period to have been built in red sandstone. Its pyramidal façade, enriched with galleries and pavilions (chhatri), is superbly decorated with arabesques and floral motifs. The top floor of the mausoleum is made of white marble. Inside, the first room has remarkable wall paintings, Koranic inscriptions and gilding. You will then reach the crypt whose decoration was erased by the dreadful Aurangzeb. For your information, you should know that there is nobody in the tomb since Akbar's rises were scattered by the Jats at the end of the 19th century. The place nevertheless keeps a rather moving atmosphere...
