Jaisalmer Fort - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Jaisalmer Fort is one of the largest forts in the world. It is situated in Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer

Jaysalmer , nicknamed "The Golden City", is a town in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital Jaipur. It was once known as Jaisalmer state. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, which contains the palace and several ornate Jain...

city in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state of Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

. It was built in 1156 AD by the Bhati Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal, from where it derives it name. The fort stands proudly amidst the golden stretches of the great Thar Desert

Thar Desert

The Thar Desert |Punjab]] province. The Cholistan Desert adjoins the Thar desert spreading into Pakistani Punjab province.-Location and description:...

, on Trikuta Hill, and has been the scene of many battles. Its massive yellow sandstone walls are a tawny lion color during the day, fading to honey-gold as the sun sets, thereby camouflaging the fort in the yellow desert. For this reason, it is also known as the "Golden Fort".

History

During medieval times, the city played a major role in trade with Persia, Arabia, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

and Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. The fort contains 3 layers of walls. The outer or the lower layer is made out of solid stone blocks and it reinforces the loose rubble of Trikuta Hill. The second, or middle, wall snakes around the fort. From the innermost, or third, wall, the Rajput

Rajput

A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

warriors once hurled boiling oil and water as well as massive blocks of rock at their enemies, who would become entrapped between the second and third walls. This defenses of the fort include 99 bastions, of which 92 were built between the period of 1633-47.

Ala-ud-din Khilji attacked and captured the fort in the 13th century and managed to hold it for 9 years. It was during the seize of the fort, the Rajput

Rajput

women committed Jauhar

Jauhar

Jauhar and Saka refer to the ancient Indian tradition of honorary self immolation of women and subsequent march of men to the battle field to end their life with respect. It was followed by the Rajput clans in order to avoid capture and dishonour at the hands of their enemies...

. The second battle at the fort happened in 1541, when Mughal

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

emperor Humayun

Humayun

Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one...

attacked the fort city.

Since British rule, due to the rise of sea trade and the growth of the port of Bombay, the city experienced a major economic recession. After the independence and partition of India, the ancient trade route was totally closed, thus sealing the fate of the city. Nonetheless, the continued strategic importance of Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer

was demonstrated during the 1965 and 1971 wars between India

India

and Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. Today about a quarter of the city's population lives in the fort. At one point the entire population of Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer

lived within the fort. With the increase in population, people gradually moved out and found shelter at the foot of Trikuta Hill. Because of the increase in the resident population, and in the number of visitors, the fort was included in the 1996 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund

World Monuments Fund

World Monuments Fund is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....

, and again in 1998 and 2000. Major restoration work has taken place by the Fund. According to former INTACH chairman S.K. Misra, American Express

American Express

American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...

has provided more than $1 million for the conservation of Jaisalmer Fort.

Major Attractions

Raj Mahal (Royal palace).
Jain temples.
Laxminath temple.
4 massive gateways.
Merchant Havelis. These are large houses often built by wealthy merchants in Rajasthani towns and cities in North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

, with beautiful, ornate sandstone carvings. Some havelis are many hundreds of years old. In Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer
Jaysalmer , nicknamed "The Golden City", is a town in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital Jaipur. It was once known as Jaisalmer state. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, which contains the palace and several ornate Jain...

there are many elaborate havelis carved from golden sandstone. Some of the most famous have many floors and countless rooms, with decorated windows, archways, doors and balconies. Some havelis are today museums but most in Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer
Jaysalmer , nicknamed "The Golden City", is a town in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital Jaipur. It was once known as Jaisalmer state. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, which contains the palace and several ornate Jain...

are still lived in by the families that built them. Among these is the Vyas haveli which was built in the 15th century, the descendants of which still occupy the building. Another example is the Shree Nath Palace which was once inhabited by the Prime Minister of Jaisalmer, and you are invited to stay in these rooms – there are only five available for the hotel – and join the Vyas family in enjoying this architectural treasure. Some of the doors and ceilings are wonderful examples of old carved wood from many hundreds of years ago.

The fort has numerous eateries, including Italian, French, and native cuisines. The famous Indian film director Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...

wrote a detective novel and later made it into a film, Sonar Kella
Sonar Kella
Sonar Kella , also Shonar Kella, released in the United States as The Golden Fortress, is a 1971 mystery novel and a 1974 film by Bengali writer and director Satyajit Ray. The film is an adaptation of the novel with minor plot changes and features the actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Santosh Dutta,...

(The Golden Fortress), based on the fort. The film became such a massive success and a classic, famous in all parts of the world, that tourists from Kolkata and Bengal flock in to Jaisalmer only to experience the virtual cinematic deja vu, surrounding the fort.

External links

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