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 Tour of Akbar's Tomb:
Akbar's Tomb at Sikandra is a fitting mausoleum for the emperor as the architecture of the tomb displays the personality traits of Akbar perfectly nicely. Akbar's Tomb is a finest specimen of the Mughal architecture, which absorbs the unique features of all the prevalent styles of architecture to create an indigenous style. Like Akbar, who introduced a new concept of Sulh-I-Kul and Din-I-Ilahi, which is an amalgamation of all the goods features of all the religion, his mausoleum is a tribute to pragmatic and secular ideas of Akbar. The mausoleum marks a significant departure from the earlier Islamic tombs, which have a dome as the crowing glory of the tomb.
Akbar had initiated the construction of his tomb before his death in 1605 AD but his son Jahangir completed it much after his death. The Akbar's Tomb stands in the middle of a large garden enclosed by walls and entered through a graceful gateway in the south. This massive yet elegant gateway is decorated with geometrical and arabesque motifs in white and colored marble. Several smaller and simpler arches flank the high central arch. Four magnificent minarets in white marble shoot up from the gateway. These minarets are considered as the predecessor of the minarets of the Taj only difference being that these minarets are the part of the gateway rather than the dome.
One can reach the tomb through the charbagh or the four gardens. The Akbar's Tomb is bright red multi-storeyed structure without the typical dome. Out of the five stories, the first floor is a platform of arches. The center of each arch has a lavishly decorated framed door. The next three floors are of red sandstone with a flat roof held by rows of pillars. The uppermost storey has a marble wall with arches and the imitation of the real sarcophagus lies open in the sky. The large panels of finely made filigree screens form the outer wall of the balcony. The real grave of Akbar lies in the basement and can be reached through a porch covered with superb stucco paintings in gold, blue, and green floral calligraphy of Persian inscriptions.
How to Reach:
The town of Sikandra is 4 km from Agra towards the west of the city. It can be easily reached from Agra. Agra is well connected by air with Khajuraho, Varanasi, and Delhi. It has a good railway and surface network with major Indian cities. Tourists can also avail of the bus services or private taxis from Agra to Sikandra.
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