This is our 2nd day in Jaipur, a city of 6,000,000 people. Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan...it’s name originates as follows...Jai (Jai Singh) was the Rajah who founded the city...pur….Hindu word for city...thus Jaipur. It is known as the "pink city" because the Rajah had the city painted "pink" for the visit of England's Prince of Wales, later King Edward I. Today we visited the "Amber Fort in the morning, a jeweler in early afternoon and an afternoon "bollywood movie" to relax....the heat was oppressive.
The Amber Fort was built in the later part of the 16th century and is a magnificent structure overlooking a valley. Surrounding the approaches to the Fort is a "great wall", similar to China's, that encompasses an area exceeding 12 kilometers. The architecture of the Amber Fort is amazing from an engineering point of view. Think about the fact that it was built over a period of just 20 years with no mechanized equipment. Look at the symmetry of the structure, its expansiveness, the gateways, and the air conditioning and heating techniques that maintained the creature comforts for the rulers. Slaves located outside of the main rooms and bedrooms pulled ropes tied to large cloth fans to stir the air...walls were hallow which allowed water to cool the rooms...mirror chips of various sizes were embedded in the walls and ceiling to reflex the colors of the drapes and carpets....drains flowed into cisterns.....gems were prevalent being encased in the walls and embroiled into the screens and carpets.....opulence...opulence. The Fort's exterior provided security while the interior sustained creature comforts.
When you enter the Fort, you have 3 choices...take a jeep ride....ride an elephant....walk...we walked.
The temperature are approaching 90 degrees and we have been touring the Fort for about 3 hours. We retreat to a gem stone enterprise. Jaipur is known world-wide for the hand processing of world gem stones. Ancestors of today's craftsmen once served the Indian Rajahs and Mughals of centuries old. Gems are hand cut and polished. I learned that there are four precious gem stones - diamonds, ruby, emerald and sapphire...the remainder are classified as semi-precious. We had a number of buyers in our group and I spent about an hour plus watching my fellow travelers indulge themselves with their purchases. Unlike Venus jewelers in Thailand, I bought nothing!!
After lunch, we had an hour to kill, so five of us headed for the Jantar Mantar Observatory. The observatory houses a collection of large and unique astronomy and astrological instruments that date back to the 1700s...
It's 3:30 PM and it is hot, humid and we are exhausted. We retreat to an Indian movie theater to watch a "Ballywood" Indian movie. There were no "English" subtitles. We attempted to figure out the plot why the audience was reacting with laughter and hoots. It was humorous as well as enjoyable.
Most of us headed back to the hotel since we wanted to have some down time and relax. Pip, Jodie an Ian opted for additional shopping and dinner in town...true shopping troopers. I....used the Internet, ate a light dinner, packed and went to bed by 10 PM.
The Amber Fort was built in the later part of the 16th century and is a magnificent structure overlooking a valley. Surrounding the approaches to the Fort is a "great wall", similar to China's, that encompasses an area exceeding 12 kilometers. The architecture of the Amber Fort is amazing from an engineering point of view. Think about the fact that it was built over a period of just 20 years with no mechanized equipment. Look at the symmetry of the structure, its expansiveness, the gateways, and the air conditioning and heating techniques that maintained the creature comforts for the rulers. Slaves located outside of the main rooms and bedrooms pulled ropes tied to large cloth fans to stir the air...walls were hallow which allowed water to cool the rooms...mirror chips of various sizes were embedded in the walls and ceiling to reflex the colors of the drapes and carpets....drains flowed into cisterns.....gems were prevalent being encased in the walls and embroiled into the screens and carpets.....opulence...opulence. The Fort's exterior provided security while the interior sustained creature comforts.
When you enter the Fort, you have 3 choices...take a jeep ride....ride an elephant....walk...we walked.
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| 1st View of Amber Fort |
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| Approaching the Fort |
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| Ride an Elephant into Town |
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| The Long Climb Up |
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| You buy...You buy |
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| The Rajah Review Stand |
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| Intricate Frescos |
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| King of All He Views |
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| Room of Mirrors |
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| Looking Good |
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| Find over 10 Animals and Insects |
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| Painted with Gold and Crushed Gems |
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| Amber Fort Gardens |
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Examine Intricate Art Work
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| Looking Down at Elephant Caravan |
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| Portion of Defensive Great Wall |
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| Cobra Sake Charmer |
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| Sold Me a Ganesh God Carving |
The temperature are approaching 90 degrees and we have been touring the Fort for about 3 hours. We retreat to a gem stone enterprise. Jaipur is known world-wide for the hand processing of world gem stones. Ancestors of today's craftsmen once served the Indian Rajahs and Mughals of centuries old. Gems are hand cut and polished. I learned that there are four precious gem stones - diamonds, ruby, emerald and sapphire...the remainder are classified as semi-precious. We had a number of buyers in our group and I spent about an hour plus watching my fellow travelers indulge themselves with their purchases. Unlike Venus jewelers in Thailand, I bought nothing!!
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| Hand Polishing Gem Stone |
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| Owner Explaining Gems |
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| The Real Thing - Gemstones |
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| Show Room |
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| "J" Buyers - Julie and Jodie |
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| Karen - I Deserve This!! |
After lunch, we had an hour to kill, so five of us headed for the Jantar Mantar Observatory. The observatory houses a collection of large and unique astronomy and astrological instruments that date back to the 1700s...
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| World's Largest Sundial |
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| Guide Explains Sun Dail |
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| View of the Heavens |
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| Zodiac Sign Instruments |
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| Find the Planets |
It's 3:30 PM and it is hot, humid and we are exhausted. We retreat to an Indian movie theater to watch a "Ballywood" Indian movie. There were no "English" subtitles. We attempted to figure out the plot why the audience was reacting with laughter and hoots. It was humorous as well as enjoyable.
Most of us headed back to the hotel since we wanted to have some down time and relax. Pip, Jodie an Ian opted for additional shopping and dinner in town...true shopping troopers. I....used the Internet, ate a light dinner, packed and went to bed by 10 PM.
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