The spacious mardana or courtyard behind the Diwan-e-Am is surrounded by several interesting structures, though the function and purpose of some of them remain an enigma. To the north is a square red sandstone building standing by itself a little a loof and self-composed, referred to as the Diwan-e-Khas. The building from the exterior has two storeys, the upper one with a deep hanging eave around it like a hood and the lower floor is demarcated externally by a balcony supported by decorative brackets.
The flat roof has a tall kiosk at each of the four corners. Inside, it appears that the building is not two-storeyed but one high-ceilinged room. At the centre is a single faceted pillar with long tapering brackets clustered around it supporting a walkway with branching catwalks connected to corners of the room. Was the emperor meant to sit at the center and command proceedings from above or was this conference room for Akbar`s philosophers discussing the religions of the world. What was the purpose of this peculiar building Perhaps we will never know. As you walk southward along the paved sandstone courtyard there are designs that appear on the floor like a giant game of ludo, which the guides will tell you was used by the emperor who played the game using live human counters.
At the opposite end is a lovely architectural composition of a tank called Anup Talao with embellished edges and a platform at the centre that can be reached (like the catwalks of the Diwan- e-Khas) by narrow bridges. It is said that music performances were held here and acclaimed musicians of Akbar` s court, like Tansen, sat on the central platform entertaining the emperor. At the northeastern corner of the Anup Talao is another elegant miniature building of Fatehpur Sikri. It is called for some reason the Turkish Sultana`s House. It is an amazing tiny little unit because it seems to have been built, like many structures here, on the model of a wooden house, with pillars and brackets, joints and sockets, though, in actuality it is constructe denitrify out of sandstone. The inner face of the saves, the brackets and pillars, and the entire expense of the interior stone walls are decorated with carved arabesque patterns and panels of flowering trees, birds, and animals that look today like a very sophisticated monochrome wallpaper.Surrounding the courtyard are other storeyed buildings and apartment rooms.