Maota Lake

It was an early start this morning as Sudhir, our local guide, wanted to beat the crowds to the Amber Fort. You can see the outline of the building perched on the mountain top, high above the Pink City, but it is not until you get up there that the sheer scale of the ancient city is apparent.
This was the original capital of the Maharajas of Jaipur until the court outgrew the site and
Sawai Jai Singh 11 decided to built a new city in 1727 on the plain and Jaipur was born.
The coach could only take us so far and we disembarked to the sound of a snake charmer’s call and there was a cobra transfixed in its basket. Thankfully, it scarcely moved! Here we could view the palace complex over the lake, sitting on its mountain top. It is surrounded by a sixteen kilometre wall for protection, which together with the water and sheer cliffs would have proven pretty effective I should think. Transport for the final section is by jeep and at one time used to be by elephant, but not any longer. Health and safety has apparently reared its head even here, which is hard to believe.
We rocketed up the final narrow track, hanging on for dear life, to arrive at the Amber Fort. Through the main gate is a huge courtyard and elephants were here giving rides to those who would do so. We progressed up the steps to the upper courtyard and the Palace itself. Before entering the palace we explored the Hall of Public Audience, where the Maharajah met his subjects and officials to deal with any problems that had arisen. The facade of the Palace itself is beautifully decorated with hand painting and we progressed through to the inner courtyard where sits the Hall of Private Audience where visiting ambassadors and high ranking officials and friends were received. This is one of the major attractions of the Fort. It is known as Sheesh Mahal or Glass Palace and is constructed of white marble. The walls and ceilings are covered with intricate patterns inset with glass, appearing silvery from a distance. There are superb cartouche carvings of plants at intervals and the whole effect is spellbinding. The Maharajah had up to twelve wives at any one time, clearly a busy fellow; each wife having her own apartment in the wives quarter. They could only view the outside world in the form of the courtyard through the latticed wall high up on the upper walkway and numbers 1,2 and 3 wives were expected to be at their allotted windows to welcome their husband home at the appropriate time!!
The view of the surrounding lake from this high up was glorious, as was the inner courtyard garden that we could now look down upon. It was very similar to an English knot garden, with the addition of fountains and running water, alas no longer working.
We departed for our lunch stop as the crowds were beginning to build and we forgave Sudhir’s insistence on an early start. The hotel we stopped at for lunch was opposite another beautiful lake on the outskirts of Jaipur and we had a very good view of the now abandoned summer palace, sitting in the middle of the lake. One can only imagine what it must have been like in it’s heyday.
The afternoon was devoted to shopping of one sort and another; block printed fabrics, stunning carpets and jewellery. For a group of mainly ladies this was a popular and interesting couple of hours. The techniques involved with all three were demonstrated and fascinating.
And so we have come to the end of our first week in Jaipur and we move on tomorrow to Ranthambhore National Park. A total contrast, but it will be good to see the rural side of Rajasthan.Read more