Two Majestic Forts In Jodhpur

By Author: Ashima Banerjee
Total Articles: 95
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If you have not visited the terrain of beautiful forts and palaces, the imperial state of Rajasthan, you are definitely missing something great. The land of colors, bravery and diversity has a lot to offer to its visitors. Rajasthan is well known all over the world for its opulent culture, tradition, custom and royal past. Once the home to royal dynasty, Rajasthan shelters incredible monuments, beautiful forts, terrific palaces, tranquil lakes, thrilling wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, sandy desert, rippling sand dunes, ancient cities, customary villages, heritage hotels and temples.

Rajasthan includes various magnificent places and cities that reflect the astounding picture of the state. The most renowned places that depict the cultural and historical heritage of the state are Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Ajmer, Pushkar, Bikaner etc. Most of the cities in the state are dotted with majestic forts and palaces that make Rajasthan different from the other states of India. Their inimitable and pleasant architecture makes everyone spellbound. A tour of these fort and palaces in Rajasthan is a remarkable journey ...
... as they present the grandeur of the royal past and culture of the state in the most unique and spectacular way.

Jodhpur is one of the most visited cities of the state and houses many spectacular forts like Mehrangarh Fort, Umaid Bhawan Palace and Jaswant Thada. The city is a memento of Rajasthan and is located 335 kilometres away from the capital city of the state, Jaipur. The city is known as the Sun City for the bright, sunny weather it enjoys all year. Major attractions of the city include Mehrangarh Fort, Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jaswant Thada, and Ghanta Ghar (Clock Tower).Tourists can visit as an excursion to Mandore, Kaylana Lake and Garden, Balsamand lake, Sardar Samand lake and palace, Masooria Hill, Veer Durgadas Smarak(monument, park and museum), Dhawa (Dholi) forest area, Khichan, Osian, Nakoda ji.

Mehrangarh Fort is the pride of Jodhpur and is known for its amazing constructions, and brilliantly crafted and decorated palaces. Constructed by Maharaja Man Singh, this structural icon is the storehouse of the glorious history of the Rathore rulers who built it in the 14th century AD. Successive generation of rulers contributed to make this fort the magnificent structure that it is today. The fort rises to a height of hundred feet with surrounding walls varying between 6 to 36m in height and from 3 to 21 m in thickness. Within this wall is an oblong space that is entirely covered by buildings. To make the outer wall stronger, a number of efforts were made like building chain of battlement with towers and buttressing it at many places. The Fort is situated at the center of the Jodhpur and is spread over an area of 5 kilometers atop 125 meter on high hill.

A major portion of the fort is occupied by the women quarters since for military purpose the male folk of the fort were always out on expedition. Hence there are a number of Zenana Mahals, but apart from this there are other palaces as well like the Moti Mahal, Sheesh Mahal, Phul Mahal and Takhat-Vilas.Today, these palaces act as museums and display a wonderful collection of palanquins, elephant howdahs, cradles, manuscripts, miniature paintings, costumes and weapons from every period of the Jodhpur history.

In the Armory section tourists can see the exhibition of rare weapons of yesteryears. The display includes sword with handle in jade, silver, rhine horn, ivory, shields studded with rubies, emeralds and pearls, guns with gold and silver work on barrels and personal swords of emperors like Akbar, Timur and Khanda of Rao Jodha. And the Painting Gallery houses a rich compilation of Marwar paintings which showcases the artistic work of several artisans.

Umaid Bhawan is another brilliant piece of architecture in Jodhpur built by the Maharaja Umaid Singh in 1928. It is an example of architectural extravaganza built during the British Raj. This magnificent palace is known for 347 beautiful rooms and two huge double domes of 185 feet tall. Scores of tourists come here to experience the charm of yesteryear Raj's culture through its preserved royal arts and artifacts. Some of the known attractions of this palace are ballrooms, royal auditorium, mementos and old photographs, walls adorned with tiger and deerskins, and gilded royal furniture.

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