The Amber Fort And Palace

It was rise and shine for breakfast at seven and by eight o’clock we were on the buses and on our way to the Amber Fort in Jaipur. It’s always hard to tell distances because you can’t calculate traffic but I think it was about forty-five minutes to get to the fort. Along the way we saw a few interesting things like motorcycles loaded to the hilt with I don’t know what. Perhaps vendors on their way to shops? Lots of cows, some almost grouped enough to be a herd. A beautiful white temple. A camel, just wandering like the cows.

And the landscape had changed. There were hills around us and up on the hilltop was the fort.

Of course the bus was not going to make that climb and we would soon discover why. We pulled into a parking lot full of jeeps that could carry four passengers in back and one in front next to the driver. Our bus group split up and loaded into the jeeps. We smiled at the other couple across from us. We didn’t need to say it. It was going to be quite an experience. You could feel it.

Our jeep driver hopped in and we were off. We passed through the small town and the honking horns and past the souvenir and fresh produce stands beginning to open for business. This early, they must have been expecting a good business from tourists. It was Friday after all and the weekend was beginning.

Soon the streets of the town began to get narrower and twist back and forth. We bounced around on the seats, holding on to the supports of the rooftop. The bus never could have made it through between buildings. The sides would have been scraped off.

Once off the jeeps, we entered the huge main courtyard area of the fort and immediately noticed the elephants coming in through the opposite gate. There was obviously another way up other than the jeeps. I’m so glad Uniworld chose the jeeps.

The inside of the fort walls showed the immensity of the place. The structure dates back to the 16^th century. Dating these structures always amazes me when I realize they have designed and built them without all of our modern devices including any computer generated plans.

There was a ramp up to the next level of the fort and a giant plaza. At one end was a pillared area that I believe is called the Hall of Public Audience. Here is where the king would sit and listen to the queries of common men.

It was difficult to pay attention to the commentary of our guide because I was so distracted by the activity around us. There were countless bridal couples accompanied by a company of photographers and their assistants posing their subjects in flattering places around us. As we went to take a picture looking down from the fort, we had to wind our way around the couples and try carefully not to get into their photo shot. Okay, maybe it was just a little tempting to photo bomb one or two.

The dresses and the young women in them were beautiful. The men handsome and smart looking in their bridal suits. Some of the dresses were white, others were very colorful shades of blue, pink, mauve, etc. Many sparkled with shiny beads that reflected the sun. Our guide said couples would travel miles to come and have their time of photographing their special occasion.

We moved on to the Mirror Palace. This was truly spectacular. The details in the walls were delightful to look at. The story is that one of the king’s (or shah’s) wives wanted to sleep out under the stars but it wasn’t appropriate for a woman to do so. To satisfy her, the king commissioned builders to design the mirrored walls so at night the mirrors would catch the moonlight and appear to be stars sparkling in the sky. Sounds very romantic.

At one vantage point we were able to look over the side and see the elephants coming up the long trail from below with people riding on top. It reminded me of the steep trail the mules or donkeys follow in Santorini to get from the beach landing area to the town above.

We went up another level. More vistas. More bridal couples.

The area that housed the twelve wives was absolutely magnificent. The king must have treated them well. He would have to in order to keep that many women happy I suppose. The women were all housed on the lower level and each of their rooms could be accessed by the king but none of the women were allowed to ascend to his quarters. (As an aside, I could imagine a great plot for a story there but that’s for another time.)

Again, the intricacies of the sculpting and carving in the walls was a pleasure to explore with your eyes. From the walkway past the rooms, you could look down into the serene lovely and peaceful garden being attended to by a lady in a bright red sari.

More vistas from the very top and we were done. We made our way down. I began to notice how much the temperature was climbing. Our next stop was going to be hot, very hot. I hoped I was up to it.