India: Khultabad Mausoleums
Khultabad is another walled-city, fortified and built by Aurangzeb, the last Mughal Emperor. The town has also huge religious significance for Muslims (who are in overwhelming majority here) as several Sufi saints are buried here. Aurangzeb’s tomb is also here – two adjoining mosques house all the marble tombs. Colorful green and yellow Islamic motives adorn walls and columns. The tombs are made out of shining white marble and gold. Interestingly, Aurangzeb himself chose Khultabad to be his burial place, next to the holy Islamic saints’ tombs, and he funded it himself during the last years of his life by knitting Islamic scullcaps and selling them anonymously in the market.
