Tomb of Salim Chishti

The Tomb of Salim Chishti stands in the courtyard of the Jama Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri. The Sufi saint Salim Chishti, who lived from 1478 to 1572 and descended from Baba Farid, had made his home in a cave on the Sikri ridge and foretold the birth of Akbar's son, who was named Salim in his honour and later succeeded Akbar. Akbar built the tomb in 1580-81, as part of his new imperial city, and it is counted among the finest works of Mughal architecture. With the mosque and the city, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

The white marble tomb stands on a low platform reached by five steps and is enclosed on every side by finely pierced marble screens, giving it an ivory-like look. Black and yellow marble mosaic decorates the plinth. Inside, under a single dome, the cenotaph sits within an ebony enclosure beneath a wooden canopy inlaid with mother-of-pearl.