India 2012

Thursday8November

New day, new city! Here we are in Jodhpur, the blue city, which, like Jaisalmer, proudly displays its fortress on a rocky outcrop.

So here we are at the foot of the ramparts where we are greeted by a friendly dromedary...

Right at the entrance, a fresco in the recognizable Rajput style.

The havelis suspended on the edge of the cliff

It is from up there that Jodhpur offers its most beautiful blue. Everyone has used their brush to make the city uniform under the visitor's eye.

But Wikipedia is much less poetic...: "The blue indicated that these houses belonged to members of the Brahmin caste. Blue also offers the advantage of protecting from heat and repelling mosquitoes."

The fortress cannon facing the blue of the city

These red footprints were left by the princesses upon their arrival in the citadel.

The Hookah Smoker of Jodhpur.

Like a Tirthankara in his niche, he poses for visiting photographers in this fort courtyard...  

A collection of elephant seats from the 17th to the 19th century.

The great Palanquin or mahadol

Sabers and swords...

The usual stylized paintings

Rooms with sumptuous decorations

From time to time, we pass through the ramparts to enjoy the elevated view offered by the fort.

In the distance, we can see the Jaswant Thada temple that we will visit later.

Rooms more surprising than the last. Faience, gilding, mirrors, they are everywhere!

There are openings everywhere when they are not perforated walls. One more opportunity to photograph Jaisalmer the blue...

The Maharaja's audience hall dating from 1595.

And in the distance, the Umaid Bhawan Palace, the majestic residence of the current maharaja...

Blue as far as the eye can see

Here we are now at the Jaswant Thada temple that we saw from the fort earlier. Now, it's the fortress's turn that we can appreciate on its rock.

The temple is made of white marble

The edifice was erected in memory of Jaswant Singh according to his wife's wishes.

Inside, a large hall with a central "door"

Back to Jodhpur to try the local pizza, vegetarian of course... and spicy of course (but not too much, it's fine...)  

The afternoon will be dedicated to a stroll through the old city. We therefore pass through the gate of Sardar Bazar, the central square for merchants of all kinds.

Rickshaws can be customized! Their drivers too! This is not the first to have chosen red as a hair color. No idea if there's a religious reason or not...

We hesitated to try the hairdressers and barbers... That will be for another time!

In the middle of Sardar Bazar, the Clock Tower, from 1910 for this one. Many cities have these clocks, remnants of the British era.

The market stalls, in addition to their vegetables and fruits, offer us their colors that I gladly digitize with my DSLR!

And we finish with the essential specialty of the place, the Shri Mishrilal hotel bar. No alcohol here, only lassis. Lassi is a fermented milk-based drink, sometimes flavored (vanilla, raspberry, lemon, etc.). The special thing about this place is that the lassis are excellent and you don't have to rack your brain to choose your drink; as soon as you sit down, a waiter places your glass in front of you! All that's left is to enjoy!