About Ornamentation in Tomb of Akbar:
Akbar’s Tomb at Sikandra is a befitting tribute to the great Mughal Emperor. Mosaic work beautifies the southern, eastern and western gateways and the central archway of the main building. The combination of white marble and red sandstone with their contrasting colors and textures looks stunning. Abri stars inlaid in the oblong dado panels and arranging the square or rectangular pieces of multi-hued stones in geometrical and floral patterns has been elaborately used at the tomb. ‘Swastik’, a symbol of Hindus, has also been used for decorative purpose. Arabesque patterns in white and black marble or white and green marble can be seen on the spandrels of the arches. The three surviving marble dados on the second storey hall of the western gateway are undoubtedly finest examples of dado art. Some of the other techniques that have been used frequently for the ornamentation purposes include the inlaying of black marble and abri stones, raised Persian inscription in gold in the hall, beautiful examples of paintings in white safeda and red hirmich on the semi-soffits of the wings of the southern gateway and a complicated scheme of painting on the central portal with rich arabesque tracery. The paintings of the southern vestibule of the main tomb use colors such as crimson, indigo, olive and chrome. Gold is often used as the most dominating color.
General Information about Tomb of Akbar:
Location: Agra
State: Uttar Pradesh
Capital: Lucknow
Language: Hindi, English
Temperature: Max 42˚C, Min 27˚C (summer), Max 26˚C, Min 14˚C (winter)
Best Season: October to February
How to Reach Tomb of Akbar:
By Air:
Agra airport is 7 km from the city centre and 3 km from Idgah bus stand and is connected by domestic flights from major Indian cities. There are daily round trip flights from Delhi to Agra, Khajuraho, and Varanasi, with a return to Delhi. It takes only about 40 minutes from Delhi to Agra.
By Road:
Agra is about 204 km from Delhi, the capital of India. There is an excellent national highway connecting Delhi and Agra and it is only a 4 hours drive from Delhi. There are many luxury taxis and buses that drive to Agra everyday. Idgah and Agra Fort are the main bus stands of Agra from where anybody can catch buses to and from or Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura and Fatehpur-Sikri.
By Rail:
Agra is well connected by rail to Delhi, Varanasi and cities of Rajasthan. The main railway station is the Agra Cantonment station. There are many trains connecting Delhi and Agra like Shatabdi, Rajdhani, Taj Express and luxury trains like the Palace on Wheels.