Jodhpur

Leaving Udaipur I made my way further Northwest to the city Jodhpur, which is nicknamed the blue city. Arriving in the city I quickly found a guesthouse and proceeded to explore the city since I didn't have very much time there. For the rest of the afternoon I just wandered through the narrow streets and market around the clock tower all the while gazing up at the huge fort towering above the city. The Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur is a huge structure built upon the a cliff face that overlooks the entire city, and it certainly looked indestructible. Wandering around the city I also got to confirm that it truly is a blue city as at least half of all the buildings within the city are painted blue. The were originally painted blue to indicate which caste the owners belonged to (Brahmins I believe but I could be wrong), today only the houses in the old city must keep this tradition while in the new city any house can be painted blue, and many are.

The following day was my only real day in Jodhpur as I was leaving that night to meet up with Karan, my friend, in Delhi. So I started off the day by making my way up the hill to Mehrangarh Fort. Once inside the fort I toured around it with the aid of an audio guide (definitely the best audio guide I've had so far), getting a chance to see most of the buildings and courts inside the fort as well as some smaller museum exhibits. The fort was really spectacular as all of the interior buildings were intricately designed and surrounded by several courts. Additionally the design of the fort walls themselves are really impressive as they are on average 20 meters high and sit on the very edge of a cliff, it's an extraordinary feat that they still look stable and nothing is falling apart. Inside the museum parts of the fort are several exhibits containing artwork, palanquins (the chairs people are carried in), and lots of clothing and furniture. All of it expertly explained by the audio guide. After leaving Mehrangarh Fort I visited the Jaswant Thada which is a stunning white marble memorial for Maharaja Jaswant Singh II. The building is exremely beautiful being carved out of thin sheets of white marble it just seems to glow in the sun light.

After touring around the Fort and the Jaswant Thada I had a little bit of time left in Jodhpur which I spent wandering around the market again. After another short visit to the market I boarded a bus to Delhi to meet up with Karan and enjoy some of his hospitality.





A view of the imposing Mehrangarh Fort from slightly above it. You can see the towering walls located almost exactly on the cliff face here, but they are even more impressive from the other side while looking up at the fort.








A view of the "blue city" looking out from a window in the fort. To see over half a city entirely blue was really fascinating.









A man sitting with a Hukka and explaining that locals would smoke flavoured tobacco from it while the drank opium (didn't smoke it).








A view of the beautiful Jaswant Thada.










A stall selling many different coloured turbans in the market near the clock tower.