Jaipur...Part 2a

Since some of the most famous sites in Jaipur are located outside the city we hired a driver for the day to show us around, it cost approximately 40 CAD for the full day. 

We started off with a visit to a very old temple which was made from mostly white marble, it was very quiet there as it was off the beaten path...

Very beautiful carvings...

Resident monkeys which I don’t like...

The temple grounds had three courtyards and was located at the foot of one of the mountains surrounding Jaipur...

The keepers of the temple...

There are many Hindu temples throughout India as approximately 80% of the population are Hindu which means there are 966 million Hindus in this country! 

Jaipur has had a long tradition of block printing cloth which goes back many 100s of years. We stopped at the Anoki museum which helps us to understand this tradition. The museum is located in a restored Haveli which was a former mansion. The building itself is quite beautiful...

We visited a couple of traditional block printers who were demonstrating their craft, this man was making the blocks to hold the ink...

This pattern required 4 blocks with different colours...

Helping the printer...

However with many traditional crafts times are changing as noted by one of the storyboards...

However it was interesting to note that a lot of younger Indian designers are trying to create a market for these beautiful fabrics...

Some road scenes around this area...

Dusty colours...

Colourful decorations...

There are goats everywhere...

Waiting for the next ride...

Women shopping...

Our next stop is the number one attraction in Jaipur, the Amber Fort which is located about 11 Kim’s from the city.

The latest reincarnation of this fort was in the 1600s when it was rebuilt by the Maharajahs as a fortified residence and outpost. It is built of red sandstone and marble and is in a Hindu-Muslim style. It is also a recognized UNESCO Heritage site.

There are a number of ways to reach the top including riding an elephant but we decided to walk...

The young couple ahead of us did not look up once from their smartphones all the way to the top!

It was our first day in the hot sun with the temperature reaching 28C so we sought shelter on the way up...

We also came across this group of women and children cheerfully singing...

This complex houses the Royal Palaces in a series of three different courtyards which seems to be a typical architecture of this region...