Jaipur - part IV - the Amber Palace

This is really one of the coolest places we have seen so far. It is HUGE and way up on a hill, to be strategic militarily, of course. It was built in 1592. You have the option of riding an elephant to the Fort, which we intended to do, but unfortunately, it being Festival weekend, the lines were too long, and we were too late.

We waited in line, and the kids sat in the shade of the giant palm trees or got wet in the sprinklers, then we gave up and took a jeep up the steep hill.

This is a HUGE complex. The wall around it is wide enough to drive (or ride an elephant!) on.

This courtyard is built overtop of a huge cistern, designed to hold vast amounts of water that would let them resist a seige. It has a complicated system of drains and collection. We saw a woman getting water from this hole.
This goat was happy to eat out of your hand.

Ongoing repairs. Everything is so labour-intensive here.

This area with all the mirrors is pretty famous. It sure bounced the light around.

There were many little passages and halls cutting thru everywhere - the idea was that the women could get around without anyone seeing them. When this fort was built, the fashion was VERY heavy, ornate dresses for the queen. Like 45 pounds or so. So she mostly moved around in a wheeled-chair pushed by ladies-in-waiting. Many of the passages had ramps instead of stairs. There are often little slatted windows to let in air, and let them see out, but no one could see them. The windows up high that you can see in this full photo are carved with the star pattern. They were well-hidden here - you can see that there is someone there, but can't see their features. The king didn't like anybody looking at his woman.






This is all inlay. Must have taken FOREVER!

From the top, looking over the wall. Doesn't this seem to defeat the purpose of washing the clothes?

The guide showed us these bas-relief style panels. No two are the same.

There were monkeys everywhere. Somewhere along here is where Randy suddenly came upon a monkey, and his reaction was to reach out and PULL ITS TAIL!!! Not really a very good move - they bite and carry disease! I wasn't there but the kids came on the run to tell me.

This is not glass - it is carved out of a panel. These were behind a barrier to protect them. Most had some damage, this one was the best preserved.

This is a panoramic view.
On the way back to Jaipur, we got a good view out of the wall. Not quite like China's, but still pretty impressive. It goes for miles. We also saw lots of elephants on their way to the festival.