Amber Fort & Palace

Amer Fort or Amber Fort is a fort located in Amer, Rajasthan, India. Until 1727, when Maharaja Raja Jai Singh shifted the capital to Jaipur, Amer had been the capital of the Rajput Empire.

Amazed by the art of craftsmanship Amer Palce belongs definitely to one of my personal Highlights so far. Whether wall paintings, frescoes in natural colors, mosaics or carvings in marble and sandstone, whether mosaics, everything testifies to the high level of craftsmanship of the artisans, but also to the wealth of the Maharajas. While Europe was in the throes of religious wars and wars over the distribution of political power, the Maharanis relied on cleverly arranged marriages and were able to increase their wealth by trading in gold, silver and spices and investing in the arts. A cleverly arranged marriage prevents 8 wars

11 km far from Jaipur (in a little tow named Amer), embedded in a soft hill range on the highest point, Amber or Amer fort it is one of the the principal tourist attractions in Rajasthan.

Amer Fort is known for its artistic style elements and Amer Palace is great example of Rajput architecture. Some of its buildings and work have influence of Mughal architecture. Constructed of red sandstone and marble, the attractive, opulent palace is laid out on four levels, each with a courtyard.

It consists of the Diwan-e-Aam, or "Hall of Public Audience", the Diwan-e-Khas, or "Hall of Private Audience", the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace), or Jai Mandir, and the Sukh Niwas where a cool climate is artificially created by winds that blow over a water cascade within the palace.

The palace was the residence of the Rajput Maharajas and their families. At the entrance to the palace near the fort's Ganesh Gate, there is a temple dedicated to Shila Devi, a Goddess of the Chaitanya cult, which was given to Raja Man Singh when he defeated the Raja of Jessore, Bengal in 1604. (Jessore is now in Bangladesh).Raja Man Singh had 12 queens so he made 12 rooms, one for each Queen. Each room had a staircase connected to the King’s room but the Queens were not to go upstairs. Raja Jai Singh had only one queen so he built one room equal to three old queen’s rooms.

Since 2013 Amer Fort, along with five other forts of Rajasthan, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the group Hill Forts of Rajasthan.Read more