Adventures in India, Part 14 -- Exploring the Amber Fort

After dismounting from the elephants we climbed a staircase and entered the main part of the Amber Fort.

And all the time we were being watched from above.

From inside the fort you could see the extent of the city's defenses. Quite impressive for those who haven't been to China.

The main entrance to the living quarters.

Magnificent stonework.

I'll take door number one....

The royal sleeping quarters.

The walls were honeycombed with several levels of narrow passages -- easy to get lost in.

And always above us loomed the Jaiguhr Fort.

Emerging from the wall passages we found ourselves on balconies overlooking courtyards. This one is outside the royal sleeping quarters. From here the raja could look down on petitioners.

More passages....

And more balconies....

A ceiling decoration.

And at last we exited the fort, found a ride back to the causeway, and bade farewell to the Amber Fort.

Adventures in India, Part 13 -- The Pink City and the Amber Fort

The next morning we got up early for a visit to the Amber Fort. This local musician met us as we left the hotel and boarded our bus for a tour through the Pink City.

As we passed through the wide boulevards [unusual for an Indian city] of old Jaipur we saw a number of Muslims praying in the streets, a reminder that Ramadan was coming to an end and the Eid Al Fitr [the holiday marking the end of the fasting period] was about to begin.

Snake charmers getting ready to charm the tourists.

The Hawa Mahal, or "Palace Of the Winds", a facade constructed three centuries ago to honor the god Krishna.

As we passed out of the town we saw, perched on a distant hill [the "Hill of Eagles"], the Jaigarh Fort. During the Eighteenth Century the fort served as a cannon foundry and today houses the largest cannon every cast.

Soon we came to our immediate destination -- the magnificent Amer [Amber] Fort.

We crossed the causeway at the end of the lake and took our place at the end of a long line waiting to be carried up to the fort above us. While we waited I took some pictures. This one shows the entrance to the gatehouse with the city walls [reminiscent of the Great Wall of China, but much smaller] in the distance.

Eventually we climbed up onto a platform and were seated on top of an elephant which carried us up to the fort.

From our perch we could look down on the elaborate gardens and Maota Lake in the valley below.

Eventually we came out into a large courtyard where we disembarked and prepared to enter the main part of the fort.

And, of course, even here there were monkeys.