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.

Jaipur - part III - the City Palace

This is our tour of the City Palace, also built by Maharaja Jai Singh.

I am always amazed at the intricate carving. And it's not in just a few places, it is EVERYWHERE!
Many of these areas were designed as open air rooms, to catch the breezes. Sometimes you can see big hooks where they might hang curtains to give shade or privacy. Often these were the places where you could have an audience with the ruler.

There is always a huge center courtyard.
These little girls got in the way of some Holi colours!

Alex with this ...guard, I guess.
This vessel is silver, supposedly the largest one in the world, originally made to carry water from the River Ganga for the Maharaja to drink on his sea voyage to England.

I like the arches everywhere in the Mughal style.

The wheel is made of guns. Thus the pose!

Jaipur - part II - Jantar Mantar

Our first stop was to Jantar Mantar, a giant complex of various sundials, and astrological devices. It was built by Maharaja Jai Singh in the early 1700s. The name literally means "calculation instrument" (or "magical device" in Sanskrit, depending on who you ask!). These are not your backyard sundials - these babies are HUGE and measure time to within 2 seconds. Here is the official overview...
"The observatory consists of fourteen major geometric devices for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking stars in their orbits, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the celestial altitudes and related ephemerides. Each is a fixed and 'focused' tool. The Samrat Jantar, the largest instrument, is 90 feet high, its shadow carefully plotted to tell the time of day. Its face is angled at 27 degrees, the latitude of Jaipur. The Hindu chhatri (small domed cupola) on top is used as a platform for announcing eclipses and the arrival of monsoons."
Cool, eh? Again, the best part about India is you can climb all over this stuff! Altho, later the guards blew their whistles at the kids when they were on their own sign of the Zodiac.

Our guide explained everything and showed us how the sundials worked. It was so interesting but of course I have forgotten most of it!



I did enjoy watching them mow those massive lawns with an electric mower. This requires a cord guy, so you don't run over it.

This is the 90 footer. We wanted to go up but some guys were working on the stairs. Well, they were sitting in the shade on the stairs avoiding work, maybe that is more accurate.

These big dishes in the ground are cut like this to make a full half globe if they were put together - (imagine the puzzle pieces fitting together) They represent one half of the year each, and are positioned to be accurate during that one half. They have markings on the marble that line up very precisely with where the shadows fall. The whole thing seemed unbeleivably advanced for 1730, ya know?
The guide is showing us (with a business card) how to read this different style timepiece.

Look at where the shadow falls on this sundial, then see the markings on this photo - each of these sections is 30 seconds - down to 2 seconds for the tiniest markings. Amazing. You could stand and watch the shadow move, and time pass. Pretty cool!

There are 13 to 17 devices here, again, depending on who you ask.


It was hot, and all that stone radiates the heat back.