Shani Temple in Shinganapur and Shirdi

Before we left Aurangabad,Shakeel suggested we see Bibi Ka Mukhbara (Muqbara). This visit broke the monotony and none of us had any objection to visit a tomb.

Bibi ka Mukbara resembled Taj Mahal, but lacked the richness and the crowd. It is a tourist attraction in Aurangabad. It was built by Prince Azam Shah, son of Emperor Aurangzeb, in the late 17th century. But this one was a tribute to his mother, Dilras Bano Begam. Both the Taj Mahal in Agra(built in 1629 by a husband) and Bibi Ka Mukhbara (built in 1679 by a son)are monuments of love.
We were able to take photos in and around the structures. There was a small fee for entrance - do not remember how much.

Now we are driving towards Shirdi. Shinganapur is famous for the Shani Temple. It is half way from Aurangabad to Shirdi. This was my second visit to this place. The first one was in 1997 by bus from Hyderabad with my friends. We visited both Shirdi and Shinganapur.
From Ellora, it was a long drive to get a meal. Shakeel probably wasn't that hungry and kept on driving. Finally found a place on the highway and the meals were great. The drive was beautiful and pleasant with lots of fruit trees, cotton fields, sugar cane, wheat etc.
First about the pooja at the Shani Temple. It was an abhishekam with sesame oil. Only men are allowed to do it. This I knew even before. But this time, we fell for the agent who approached us, did not give even time to breathe and we paid 250 rupees each for each pooja sponsorship. Rao was supposed to wrap a special cloth around and go to the Shani statue with the items given by the shop owner and was not to look back. When Shakeel found out that we paid 250 rupees, he was much concerned and went to the shop and brought back 100 rupees refund for each sponsorship!!! He proudly handed over the 200 rupees to me which when we settled the taxi account with him on the final day, I gave it to him as a gift. He refused at first, but took the money.
We reached Shirdi by 7 p.m. The first hotel we saw was Saichatra and we checked in. It was 2 km from the Sai Temple and the bus stand was just accross from the hotel. We said 'good bye' to Shakeel at this point and made reservations to go to Valsad by bus for Feb 13th. I will write about that later.
By the way, that hotel was solar powered excepting the elevator which was powered by electricity and naturally with power cut etc. the elevators were not functioning most of the time. By now, we were able to climb three levels easily.