Jaigarh Fort, built by Jai Singh II in 1726 is famous for being the home of the collosal Jaivana Cannon. In 1720, it was the world's largest cannon on wheels. The barrel alone is over 6m long and weighs 50 tonnes! It was only fired once (using 100kg of gunpowder) resulting in the igniter going deaf so a nearby pool was made specially for him to jump into after setting it alight. The 50kg cannon ball travelled 35km.
In the underground water tanks, it was thought that one of them held hidden gold and jewellery under the water. However, several searches often lasting months ordered by Indira Gandhi in the 1970s turned out to be fruitless. Photos 5-11 are taken in the nearby, larger Amer (or sometimes known as Amber) Fort is 11km from Jaipur. with various parts built in the 17th and 18th centuries, Amer Fort is known for its artistic style of Hindu elements. With its large ramparts, series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks the Maota Lake, at its forefront. It is also famous for being one of the settings of the Bollywood film Jodha Akbar. Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm lens.
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This Jantar Mantar (photos 1-3), a step-up from the one visited in Delhi a few days ago, was far better preserved. We learnt how the larger instruments could be used for calculating the time, for example, to within a few seconds accuracy. The Hava Mahal "Palace of Breeze" was built in 1798 in the form of the crown of Krishna. Its unique five-storey exterior is also akin to the honeycomb of the beehive with its 953 small windows called jharokhas that are decorated with intricate latticework. The original intention of the lattice was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen, since they had to observe strict "purdah" (face cover). Besides this, the lattice also provides cool air caused by the Venturi effect (doctor breeze) through the intricate pattern and thereby air conditioning the whole area during the high temperatures in summers. (Wikipedia).
Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm and Minolta 70-210mm lenses. "This magnificent fortified ghost city, 40km west of Agra, was the short-lived capital of the Mughal empire between 1571 and 1585, during the reign of Emperor Akbar. Akbar visited Sikri to consult the Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chisti, who predicted the birth of an heir to the Mughal throne. When the prophecy came true, Akbar built his new capital here. Although a brilliant Indo-Islamic masterpiece, the city was erected in an area that suffered from water shortages and was abandoned shortly after Akbar’s death. The well-preserved palace buildings and the still-used mosque [photos 1-5] are a superb reminder of the Mughals at their architectural peak" Lonely Planet.
Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm lens. The Taj Mahal (photos 1-10) is epitome of Mughal architecture in India - famously described as a teardrop on the face of eternity. Even compared to the other wonders we had been fortunate to visit over the past few days, this World Heritage Site was breathtakingly stunning.Adapted from National Geographic: It remains a testament to the grief—and power—of an emperor. Shah Jahan, who ruled the Mughal Empire (with its capital in Agra) for 30 years, had the mausoleum constructed to honor his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, after her death in 1631.
The main mausoleum of the Taj Mahal took more than 15 years to complete. (The site also includes a mosque and assembly hall The white marble dome soars 171 meters (561 feet) above a pink sandstone base. Four minarets frame the main mausoleum complex [interestingly these are purposely built 2 degrees at a slant away from the dome to protect the main dome in case of an earthquake]. The finial atop the dome is uniquely Indian, recognizing the region's religious diversity. The finial incorporates a crescent moon, the symbol of Islam (the religion of both Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal). But by placing the moon with its horns (points) pointing to the heavens in a U-shape, the moon and finial resemble a trident—a traditional symbol of the powerful Hindu god Shiva. Legend has it that Shah Jahan intended to have a "Black Taj" constructed as his own mausoleum. Conflict on this matter with his son Aurangzeb resulted in the new emporer imprisoning this father for the last eight years of his life. Both Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan are buried beneath the dome of the Taj. Photo 11 is taken at one of the emporiums outside the Taj Mahal in which marble artefacts are engraved and precious / semi-precious stones are inlaid. Photos 12-24 are taken at Agra Fort. UNESCO describes " This powerful fortress of red sandstone encompasses, within its 2.5-km-long enclosure walls, the imperial city of the Mughal rulers. It comprises many fairy-tale palaces, such as the Jahangir Palace and the Khas Mahal, built by Shah Jahan; audience halls, such as the Diwan-i-Khas; and two very beautiful mosques." Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm and Minolta 70-210mm f4 lenses. The Jamma Masjid was the principle mosque of Old Delhi. It took 6000 workers almost six years to complete (finished in 1656) and he courtyard of the mosque can hold up to 25,000 worshippers!
Photos 6-10 are taken at Red Fort (or Lal Qila), another piece of Shah Jahan's famous architechture from the 17th century. Named after the red sandstone used to build the massive walls that surround the fort, Red Fort was contructed in 1638 when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. Photo 8 shows the abundance of bird life in this part of Northern India. The next four photos are taken at Charity Birds Hospital located within the compound of Lal Mandir, a nearby Digambar Jain Temple. Working with the Jain principles of "maitri bhaav" (friendship with all living beings) and "live and let live", dedicated vets attend to hundreds of birds that have been hurt and injured. The baby pigeon was only two days old, although the sanctuary housed many larger birds including kites and peacocks. More details can be found here. The last photo is taken at Raj Ghat, the site at which Mahatma Gandhi was cremated. Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm and Tamron 28-75mm lenses. Sorry for the super delayed post... I'm going to cut down on the write-up in order to get more back-logged photos out onto the blog!
First batch of photos taken at Delhi's Jantar Mantar - a collection of architectural astronomy instruments. It was completed almost 300 years ago and the primary purpose of the observatory was to compile astronomical tables, and to predict the times and movements of the sun, moon and planets. The last few photos are taken in the highly recommended National Museum in New Delhi. Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm and Tamron 28-75mm lenses. Located in the "tourist capital of Maharashtra" (although I'm sure Mumbai has many more tourists), Aurangabad, is the Bibi ka Maqbara, a mausoleum dedicated to Aurangzeb's first wife Dilras Banu Begum. Aurangzeb was the sixth Mughal emperor, son of Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal. Although strikingly resemblant of the Taj Mahal, it was built afterwards with a substantially smaller budget, earning the moniker "poor man's Taj". Nontheless, it is still a UNESCO world heritage site and an impressive monument.
Here are some comparisons between the two: Bibi Ka Maqbara Taj Mahal Location Aurangabad, Maharashtra Agra, Uttar Pradesh Year Built 1651-1661 1632-1653 Cost 0.7m rupees 32m rupees (46x more!) Height 45m ? 171m Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm lens. Here's the second cave post - the Ajanta Caves differ from the Ellora Caves (60 miles apart) for a few main reasons... the Ajanta series is much older (dating back to about 100BC), and many of the caves are richly decorated and painted, although perhaps most are on a smaller scale than those in Ellora.
Once again, here's some information from UNESCO regarding this world heritage site: The style of Ajanta has exerted a considerable influence in India and elsewhere, extending, in particular, to Java. With its two groups of monuments corresponding to two important moments in Indian history, the Ajanta cave ensemble bears exceptional testimony to the evolution of Indian art, as well as to the determining role of the Buddhist community, intellectual and religious foyers, schools and reception centres in the India of the Gupta and their immediate successors. The caves are cut into the volcanic lava of the Deccan in the forest ravines of the Sahyadri Hills and are set in beautiful sylvan surroundings. These magnificent caves containing carvings that depict the life of Buddha, and their carvings and sculptures are considered to be the beginning of classical Indian art. The 29 caves were excavated beginning around 200 BC, but they were abandoned in AD 650 in favour of Ellora. Five of the caves were temples and 24 were monasteries, thought to have been occupied by some 200 monks and artisans. The Ajanta Caves were gradually forgotten until their 'rediscovery' by a British tiger-hunting party in 1819. Some photos have captions - click or hover over to read. Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm lens. This is the first of two cave posts, the Ajanta Caves tomorrow!
Adapted from the UNESCO website: The Ellora Caves are the remains of what was a collection of 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km, were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff. Ellora, with its uninterrupted sequence of monuments dating from A.D. 600 to 1000, brings the civilization of ancient India to life. Not only is the Ellora complex a unique artistic creation and a technological exploit but, with its sanctuaries devoted to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, it illustrates the spirit of tolerance that was characteristic of ancient India. Progressing from south to north along the cliff [as do the photos below], one discovers successively the twelve caves of the Buddhist group, which appear to be the oldest (between c. 600 and 800) and comprise monasteries and a single large temple; then the caves of the Brahmin group (c. 600 to 900) which are no doubt the best known of Ellora with the 'Cavern of the Ten Avatars' and especially the Kailasha Temple, an enormous complex; and, finally, the Jain group whose sanctuaries were created by the sect of the Digambara towards AD 800-1000. The Kailasha temple (photos 7-11 below) " is the unrivalled centerpiece of Ellora. This is designed to recall Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva – looks like a freestanding, multi-storeyed temple complex, but it was carved out of one single rock, and covers an area double the size of Parthenon in Athens. Initially the temple was covered with white plaster thus even more increasing the similarity to snow-covered Mount Kailash... The construction of this cave, claimed to be the world's largest monolithic structure, was a feat of human genius – it entailed the removal of 400,000 tonnes of rock, and took over 100 years to complete." (Wikipedia). Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm lens. We spent our first afternoon in Dubai wondering around the old town on Dubai. A long-standing centre for trade for many centuries, the traditional spice shop was a feast for the senses. The Emirati also had an innovative old air conditioning system being used to help live comfortably in a city where the summer temperatures regularly exceed 50C, involving cool air to be channelled into the home through the wind towers shown below.
In the evening, we were lucky to have a dip in the infinity pool at Oceana (set on The Palm) and enjoy the stunning views of the “second” Dubai skyline (Jumeirah Lake towers and Southern Dubai). Technical details: Sony a850 with Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 lens. |
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