Jaisalmer (population 50, 286) is nestled in the Thar Desert at the bottom of Trikuta Hill on top of which sits the impressive yellow sandstone Fort from which the City gets its name, “The Golden City”. The town was founded in 1156 and due to its strategic position on the “camel-train” routes from India to Central Asia it became very wealthy. The homes of the wealthy merchants are called “haveli’s” and a number of them are on view today. The Fort itself is different from what we have seen so far in that it contains a living village of residences, shops, and other amenities, as well as the cows, and goats. In one part we walked through, it became a little scary because one of the randy bulls decided to mount one of the females. There was quite a scuffle, and we moved very abruptly out of the way, much to the amusement of the onlookers!! Wherever we go we are stared at! Kids, and men mainly. It’s kind of sick: the men love to take photos of the young girls in the group and you can seem them taking their bums and breasts in pure delight. You just have to keep remembering that in India women do not walk around half-dressed. We are a phenomonon with our white skins and free ways. The young (and some not so young) men find it all fascinating.
Mixed in among the residential homes and shops are a series of temples: 7 Jain Temples, and a Hindu Temple, and the Maharaja’
S Palace. We learned that the Fort is one of the most threatened sites on the World Monuments Watch List of 100 endangered sites, due mainly to the lack of proper sewer and water systems resulting from the increase in tourism and inhabitants.
The Jain Temples are amazing. Jainism started way back in the 6th Century BC as a reaction against the caste system and Hinduism. One of the major criteria of the religion is non-violence towards anything that is living. The Jains make up about 1% of the Indian population, but they are often very rich and economically strong. The Temples are incredibly elaborate with every inch of the numerous columns carved with statutes of gods, animals, flora, etc.
We also went through the Palace which was small than the others we have see but no less ornate. It offers amazing views over the city. We arrived back from the Fort in time to shower before leaving for our camel trek and night in the desert.
The camels are amazingly ugly. They look ugly, their faces are ugly, and their movements are quite ungainly. However, we had a fun 1 ½ hr ride on the camels to our desert camp. When we arrived, my guide gave me the opportunity to go fast on the camel. At first I was very skeptical. I might be able to gallop on a horse, but I wasn’t sure about galloping on a camel. Anyway, he convinced me – not really tough!! – and rode up with me in front of him. “Fast” means a fast sitting trot. Its soooo comfortable. Like doing a sitting trot on a draught horse but with an even bigger stride. It was such fun! We had dinner served while a group of magicians played and danced typical Rajasthan music, then we bedded down in the open air, our nerves jangling with the thoughts of scorpions crawling over us in the night.
Mixed in among the residential homes and shops are a series of temples: 7 Jain Temples, and a Hindu Temple, and the Maharaja’
S Palace. We learned that the Fort is one of the most threatened sites on the World Monuments Watch List of 100 endangered sites, due mainly to the lack of proper sewer and water systems resulting from the increase in tourism and inhabitants.
The Jain Temples are amazing. Jainism started way back in the 6th Century BC as a reaction against the caste system and Hinduism. One of the major criteria of the religion is non-violence towards anything that is living. The Jains make up about 1% of the Indian population, but they are often very rich and economically strong. The Temples are incredibly elaborate with every inch of the numerous columns carved with statutes of gods, animals, flora, etc.
We also went through the Palace which was small than the others we have see but no less ornate. It offers amazing views over the city. We arrived back from the Fort in time to shower before leaving for our camel trek and night in the desert.
The camels are amazingly ugly. They look ugly, their faces are ugly, and their movements are quite ungainly. However, we had a fun 1 ½ hr ride on the camels to our desert camp. When we arrived, my guide gave me the opportunity to go fast on the camel. At first I was very skeptical. I might be able to gallop on a horse, but I wasn’t sure about galloping on a camel. Anyway, he convinced me – not really tough!! – and rode up with me in front of him. “Fast” means a fast sitting trot. Its soooo comfortable. Like doing a sitting trot on a draught horse but with an even bigger stride. It was such fun! We had dinner served while a group of magicians played and danced typical Rajasthan music, then we bedded down in the open air, our nerves jangling with the thoughts of scorpions crawling over us in the night.
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