Page:Burke, W.S. - Cycling in Bengal (1898).djvu/51

 galow is on the left at the 42nd milestone, just beyond four cross roads, and the road to Aligarh is straight on by the bungalow. Bulandshahr is a large rambling place entered by ruined gateways, and the roads in the city are even worse than those of Delhi, nice little traps for cyclists in the shape of drains, 2 feet wide and 6 in. deep, running across them at short intervals. From this point the going is slightly down hill for some miles with the same perfect surface. Tributary roads occur here and there, but cyclists must keep to the left and watch the milestones. It is 51 miles from Bulandshahr to Aligarh, which is a big station, and possesses a fine Dak Bungalow. The civil station forms, with the fort, a suburb of the ancient city of Koil, which by local traditionis said to owe its origin to a Kshattriya of the Lunar race. According to the earliest records obtainable,Koil city was the stronghold of a powerful Dor-Rajput chief, and the present District of Aligarh was peopled by his clan. This is evidenced by the fact that at the present day the centre of the town is crowned by an old Dor-fortress, upon which a mosque has been built, that forms the most prominent feature of Aligarh.

The next point is Agra, 52 miles off, the road pass- ing through Sassnee, Sydabad and Hatras. Agra is built on the west bank of the Jumna, was founded by Akbar in 1566, and for over a hundred years was the seat of the magnificent court of that great Emperor, and of his successors Jehangir and Shah Jehan. The ancient city of Agra was on the east bank of the river, on the site now occupied by the Agra junction station of the East Indian Railway, and the ruins of its palace