Tale of two heritage cities

[Simple_Guy]

Two heritage cities in India originated at the same time.

One was built by a Hindu monarch and the other by a Muslim monarch.

One was abandoned while the other has expanded to become one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Which two cities?

 

[Kshatriya87]

No idea. You tell me.

 

[Simple_Guy]

Udaipur in Rajasthan built by Rajput ruler Udai Singh and Fatehpur Sikri built by Mughal ruler Akbar in UP.

 

[Simple_Guy]

Both cities were originally founded because of a holy man. Udai Singh was told by a Hindu sadhu to build a new capital in the fertile valley ringed around by hills. Akbar built some buildings on the Sikri hill to honour a Muslim Sufi who lived there.

But both places developed into cities after 1568 when these two monarchs fought a year long war, ending with the capture of the fort of Chittor by Akbar. Udai Singh vowed to continue the war from his new capital of Udaipur, and Akbar celebrated victory by naming his new city Fathepur SIkri........It was built between 1569 and 1585 and was intended to be the joint capital with Agra, but was soon deserted because the water system could not support any residents. It remained untouched for over 400 years now and is a ghost city.

It showed a lack of proper planning by the Mughals. With Udaipur, the Rajputs dammed a river and created huge lakes to supply the city with fresh water. Udaipur flourished as the capital under the successive rulers, like Maharana Pratap who fought Akbar, Maharana Amar Singh who fought Jehangir, and Maharana Raj Singh who fought Aurangzeb.

Today Udaipur heritage city is located along the golden quadrilateral highway and the east-west highway and is an important tourist destination.

 

[TrueSpirit1]

AFAIK, Fatehpur Sikri was a shoddy, unsustainable patchwork on top of a huge, bustling Jain settlement that was an epicenter of religion, culture, trade & commerce. And, there is compelling archaeological find to buttress this.

Would share more on this if I find something online....

 

[Simple_Guy]

World Living Heritage Festival 2014 set to start from March 13 in Udaipur

 

[Simple_Guy]

The event was a treat for art lovers. It was also a tremendous boost for the cause of conserving our centuries-old, precious heritage, both tangible and intangible. The talks, case studies and animated discussions threw up interesting ideas and strategies for the understanding, preservation and contemporisation of age-old traditions.

Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, Chairman and Managing Trustee, MMCF, Udaipur, underlined the importance of conserving our rich culture and dwelt on the difference between heritage and history. The former comes to us as an inheritance and the latter is generally the subject of books, he said.

Celebrating Heritage