The road to Jodhpur-1

Jodhpur is famous for two things, its blue houses in the old quarter and the huge Mehrangarth Fort which dominates the skyline.

We met our next guide, Hari, after breakfast

and we went off to explore.

The first thing that is noticeable, other than the sheer scale of the place, is the slickness of operation.  It was like being in a National Trust or English Heritage property.  When I asked how come I was told because it was owned and operated by the Marahaja and not the Indian government. Enough said!

The scale of the Fort is quite impressive and the road up very steep

You don't  really get that impression from the photo, but it was!  

Only the Royal elephants were allowed up here,

and if others ventured too far this is what they would meet ... 6 inch spiked doors.

However there were many other much prettier doors fortunately!

and if you look up at the ceiling you will see these rather unusual forms - a huge swallow/swift? Colony.  Plenty of them were flipping around and about the Fort.

Although this looks pretty it is actually a record of the wives' hands who have committed sati...

On a happier note, there are gracefully shapes and forms dotted around the who Fort, although these have a grim track record too.....being filled with boiling oil to pour on attacked!

This tent canopy is a great idea, now I wonder if I can get one made for my new garden before the summer comes??

These coloured glass windows looks amazing with the sunlight streaming through, and if you look up then the ceiling is equally stunning.

There were also sedan chairs in abundance

My favourite was this winged chariot.

With the small box one for the princess and princesses.

They would have been used to such splendour from the very start, just look at how their cradles

were decorated - I really like the elephant!

The Fort was constructed in a way to keep the inner courtyards cool.  These split cane blinds were wrapped in silk threads to make the patterns, so when soaked in perfumed waters and hung up, the breeze was gently scented.

Everything seemed to be highly decorated and gilded, the golden sword hilts, the wedding toran.  This was a painted using fine squirrel brushes and natural pigments.

Outside the attendants were giving a turbon demo whilst the one on the right carefully twiddled his moustache into shape before having his photo taken!

And now just some general shots of the building as I wandered around - I enjoy seeing the juxtaposition of colours and textures

and when I looked down from the spiral staircase the shape was just like a nautilus shell, how clever is that?

On the way out we had to pass the artisan market...but at 390 RS a pair (£3.90) for hand made shoes who could resist??