"Rajasthan brings to life all my childhood imaginings about India and its exotic culture" a German friend, once remarked...."there are camels, desert landscapes, brilliant colours, men in turbans, royal palaces and great forts". The main cities also seem to be colour coded. Jaipur is known as the pink city - many of its ancient buildings are built of the local terra-cotta sandstone. The desert city of Jaiselmer, on the camel route between India and Pakistan is the golden city - the local stone used in all the old buildings is the colour of warm honey and Jodhpur is known as the blue city.
Each of these three cities has its own distinctive atmosphere. Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan with a busy modern airport and splendid architecture is perhaps the most accessible. Apart from tourism it's famous for its traditional block printing and Jaipur Blue Pottery, but it also has the gorgeous shop Anokhe and wonderful old city where you can buy fabulous jewelry and gem stones by the kilo ! Jaiselmer is a small, desert town with a laid back atmosphere, tourism and the annual camel fair, being its main claim to fame, apart from the surprising number of wind farms which encircle it.
But Jodhpur is the most strangely haunting. It is dominated by the 15th century Mehrangarh Fort, which stands high up on a cliff overlooking the town, 400 feet below, ever watchful, its immensely tall ramparts, at least 100 feet high, are dark and brooding. It's no wonder that some of the movie 'The Dark Knight Rising' was filmed there. The handprints of the Maharaja's wives who committed sati in the early 19th century, by consigning themselves to the funeral pyre, when the Maharaja died, are left on one of the 7 entrance archways to the fort, as a poignant reminder of their sacrifice, as they left Mehrangarh on their final journey.
However, the ramparts of the fort also give an eagle eye view of the Old Blue City of Jodhpur, far below. There are several theories about why the houses were painted blue - perhaps to keep the interiors cool in the summer heat - sometimes reaching 50 C ? Only the houses of the Upper Caste, Brahmin were given this privilege, blue being associated with royalty and perhaps they were the only class wealthy enough to be able to afford this expensive decorative effect ?
Each of these three cities has its own distinctive atmosphere. Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan with a busy modern airport and splendid architecture is perhaps the most accessible. Apart from tourism it's famous for its traditional block printing and Jaipur Blue Pottery, but it also has the gorgeous shop Anokhe and wonderful old city where you can buy fabulous jewelry and gem stones by the kilo ! Jaiselmer is a small, desert town with a laid back atmosphere, tourism and the annual camel fair, being its main claim to fame, apart from the surprising number of wind farms which encircle it.
But Jodhpur is the most strangely haunting. It is dominated by the 15th century Mehrangarh Fort, which stands high up on a cliff overlooking the town, 400 feet below, ever watchful, its immensely tall ramparts, at least 100 feet high, are dark and brooding. It's no wonder that some of the movie 'The Dark Knight Rising' was filmed there. The handprints of the Maharaja's wives who committed sati in the early 19th century, by consigning themselves to the funeral pyre, when the Maharaja died, are left on one of the 7 entrance archways to the fort, as a poignant reminder of their sacrifice, as they left Mehrangarh on their final journey.
However, the ramparts of the fort also give an eagle eye view of the Old Blue City of Jodhpur, far below. There are several theories about why the houses were painted blue - perhaps to keep the interiors cool in the summer heat - sometimes reaching 50 C ? Only the houses of the Upper Caste, Brahmin were given this privilege, blue being associated with royalty and perhaps they were the only class wealthy enough to be able to afford this expensive decorative effect ?
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