West of the city of Agra, in India, and surrounded by a ten kilometre long wall, is the fascinating ghost town of Fatehpur Sikri. It is believed that the founding of the town was closely associated with a prophecy made by a teacher of the religious Chishti Order who once lived there.

The design of part of the Friday Mosque, once the largest sacred building in India, was based upon the Bibi Khanam Mosque in Samarkand. An inscription refers to the building as having been completed in 1572 thus making it one of the oldest buildings in Fatehpur Sikri.

It is believed that the founding of the town was closely associated with a prophecy made by a teacher of the religious Chishti Order who once lived there. In 1569 the prophecy of the legendary mystic came true when the wife of Akhbar The Great gave birth to a long awaited male heir. Delighted at the result of the prophecy the powerful Mughal commanded that his residence be moved from Agra to Sikri, the home of his chief counsellor.

Due to a more reliable water supply than that in Fatehpur Sikri, the Mughal ruler also chose Lahore, situated in today’s Pakistan, for its strategic advantages but only a few months after his death large sections of the palace buildings began to decay.

In a way it is fortuitous that this former royal residence became neglected and abandoned thus, free from struggle and strife, this remnant of Mughal history has managed to survive to the present day.