City Palace, Jaipur, India

The City Palace is a historic landmark. The main palace is an imposing blend of traditional Rajasthan and Mughal architecture. The vast palace complex occupies one seventh of the walled city of Jaipur. Originally built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of the Kachhwaha clan of Rajputs, additions have been made to the palace complex by many of his successors.

Several palatial structures like the Chandra Mahal, Mubarak Mahal, Badal Mahal, Shri Govind Dev Temple and the City Palace Museum are the main attractions of this vast palace.

The carved arches are supported by grey-white marble columns studded with floral motifs in gold and coloured stones. Two elephants carved in marble guard the entrance, where retainers whose families have served generations of rulers are at hand to serve as guides.The palace interior houses a Museum containing select collection of various types of Rajasthani dresses, a fascinating armoury of Mughal and Rajput weapons; swords of all shapes and sizes, with chased handles, some of them inlaid, enamelled, encrusted with jewels and encased in bold and magnificent scabbards.

It also has an art gallery with a fine collection of paintings, carpets, royal paraphernalia and rare astronomical works in Arabic, Persian, Latin and Sanskrit, acquired by Sawai Jai Singh-II for his study of planets and their movements.

Best time to visit this palace is October to February. It opens from 0930 hrs. to 1630 hrs.

JAIPUR - THE PINK CITY OF INDIA

HAWA MAHAL - THE PALACE OF WIND

JAIPUR - THE PINK CITY OF INDIA

The most beautiful, Jaipur, is the first planned city of India, located in the desert lands of Rajasthan.

The city that once had been the capital of the royalty, now serves as the capital city of Rajasthan. The very structure of Jaipur resembles the taste of the Rajputs and the Royal family.

In the present date, Jaipur is the major business centre for the natives of Rajasthan with all requisites of a metropolitan city.

The city of Jaipur, painted in pink, grasp the appreciation of every visitor. One can see that hoary charm still alive in the avenues of Jaipur.

The active streets of Jaipur get plenty of visitors, every year at their footsteps. The Ancient Testimonials in the form of mind-blowing monuments remind one of the past ages.

The city comprises the famous structures like Hawa Mahal, City Palace and Amber Fort, the best architectural examples of India.

Artistic temples and gardens of Jaipur, marks the atmosphere of serenity and aestheticism to the lands of Rajasthan. The lively city observes its ethnicity by celebrating various festivals like Kite festival, Elephant festival and many others, of Indian origin.

Goa Carnival

Sunset in Goa

Churches of Goa

Churches of Goa

Se Cathedral Church

Goa has a tradition of visiting church daily. People have faith in Chrishtianity. The Portuguese Viceroy Redondo commissioned the Se, or St. Catherine's' Cathedral, southwest of St. Cajetan's, to be "a grandiose church worthy of the wealth, power and fame of the Portuguese who dominated the seas from the Atlantic to the Pacific". Today it stands larger than any church in Portugal, although it was beset by problems, not least a lack of funds and Portugal's temporary loss of independence to Spain. It took eighty years to build and was not consecrated until 1640.

Churches of Goa

The Church of St. Francis Xavier in Goa

Goa has a large number of famous Churches. Many tourists from all over the world visit these churches. St. Francis Xavier church is one of the most famous churches of Goa. Behind the gate of St. Paul's college is a Kuchcha road branching off the main road, leading to the chapel of St. Francis Xavier. It is built of laterite plastered with lime mortar, with tiled roof supported by wooden rafters is a plain chapel with only one altar. Architecturally, it is of the Doric order. The Chapel was within the enclosure of the College of St. Paul and was dedicated either to St. Anthony or to St. Jerome. As the chapel was used by St. Francis Xavier, it was re-dedicated to him after his canonization in 1622. The original chapel was in existence in 1545. With the outbreak of the epidemic and the consequent abandoning of the college of St. Paul in 1570, the chapel fell into ruins and the present chapel was built in 1884.

Goa - Tourist Attraction

Goa, a tiny emerald land on the west coast of India, the 25th State in the Union of States of India, was liberated from Portuguese rule in 1961. It was part of Union territory of Goa, Daman & Diu till 30 May 1987 when it was carved out to form a separate State.

Goa covers an area of 3702 square kilometers and comprises two Revenue district viz North Goa and South Goa. Boundaries of Goa State are defined in the North Terekhol river which separates it from Maharashtra, in the East and South by Karnataka State and West by Arabian Sea. Goa lies in Western Coast of India and is 594 Kms (by road) away from Mumbai city.

About Goa

Variously known as "Rome of the East", "Tourist Paradise" and "Pearl of the Orient", the state of Goa is located on the western coast of India in the coastal belt known as Konkan.

The magnificent scenic beauty and the architectural splendours of its temples, churches and old houses have made Goa a firm favourite with travellers around the world.

But then, Goa is much more than just beaches and sea. It has a soul which goes deep into unique history, rich culture and some of the prettiest natural scenery that India has to offer.

Monuments in Delhi - Qutub Minar

The world famous towering Qutub Minar, started in 1192 by Qutub-ud-din Aibak (1192-98), breathes down the neck of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque.

There is a slight difference of opinion as to its purpose: it probably was a tower of victory, but then again it could have been built to be a minar (tower), attached to the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, for the muezzin (priest) to climb up top for a prayer.

Monuments in Delhi - Jantar Mantar

The Jantar Mantar was built in 1710 by Raja Jai Singh II of Jaipur (1699-1743) in Delhi. This is an observatory consisting of mason-built astronomical instruments to chart the course of the heavens. Jai Singh, who was a very scholarly king with a very keen interest in astronomy and astrology, had other observatories built too – in Ujjain, Jaipur, Mathura (which no longer survives) and Varanasi.

The first among these was this one in Delhi. The yantras (instruments, which has been distorted to Jantar) are built of brick rubble and plastered with lime. The yantras have evocative names like, samrat yantra, jai prakash, ram yantra and niyati chakra; each of which are used to for various astronomical calculations.

Forts of Delhi - Tughlaqabad Fort

'Ya base gujjar, ya rahe ujjar.' (May [this city] be the abode of nomads or remain in wilderness.)These words, with which the great Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya cursed Ghiyas-ud-din's city, seem to still echo all over the ghostly ruins of Tughlaqabad. The citadel frowns down ominously like some Gothic palace all over the Qutub-Badarpur road and seems to prefer its splendid isolation. Which is of course not exactly what Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq had in mind when he started out building it. It would have broken the old sultan's heart if he had seen just how swiftly the saint's curse went into action; soon after his death in fact.

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq Raised The City: It seems that even when he was far from being a king Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq had dreamed of raising his city, Tughlaqabad. Earlier, Ghiyas-ud-din had been a general (he rose to being the governor of an important province like Punjab, but that's another story) in Ala-ud-din Khalji's army. Once while on the road with Ala-ud-din, Ghiyas-ud-din, on spotting this area, mentioned to the sultan what an ideal setting it seemed to provide for a new city. Upon this the king indulgently (and, knowing Ala-ud-din, also perhaps patronizingly) replied, 'When you become king, build it.' Knowing full well, as every boss, that while he was around there was not a shadow of a chance of anyone else taking his place. After the death of Ala-ud-din various events conspired to put the general on the throne at last. Then he fulfilled his long-cherished dream.

Forts of Delhi - Old Fort

Humayun - The Mughal Emperor constructed the Fort. In plan the Old fort, now simply called Purana Qila by Delhites, is irregularly orbital.

The walls of the immense Qila tower down on the road that takes one to Pragati Maidan from the height of 18m, and run on for about 2km. It has three main gates – the Humayun darwaza, Talaqi darwaza and Bara darwaza (which one uses to enter the fort today). The double-storeyed gates are quite huge and are built with red sandstone. of all the gates entry was forbidden from Talaqi (forbidden) darwaza, the northern gate. It is not clear why this was so.

Forts of Delhi - Red Fort

The Construction: Built during the reign of Shah Jahan, the Lal Qila (or Red Fort) has been a mute witness to innumerable conspiracies, scandals, battles..... Completed in a span of nine years, it cost about ten million rupees , with about half the sum going towards the building of palaces.

The fort is octagonal in shape, like most Islamic buildings in India. The north of the fort is connected to the smaller Salimgarh fort. The Red Fort is an intimidating structure. It measures 900m by 550m, with its rampart walls covering a perimeter of 2.41km. It towers at a height of 33.5m. On the outside, you can still see the moat that was originally connected with the Yamuna River.

The Major Gateways: Besides the Lahori Gate, the entry point is the Hathipol (elephant gate), where the king and his visitors would dismount from their elephants. The other major attractions of the Red Fort are the Mumtaz Mahal, the Rang Mahal, the Khas Mahal, the Diwan-i-Am, the Diwan-i-Khas, the Hamam and the Shah Burj.Every year, on the 15th of August, the National Flag of India is hoisted at the Red Fort by the Prime Minister , celebrating India's independence.

Delhi - Places of Tourist Interest

Delhi was chosen as the throne of chivalry by successive dynasties. One of the most preferred destinations on tourist's itinerary, Delhi is endowed with plethora of attractions.

For its tourists, this buzzing capital has a lot in its store. The Red Fort, Qutab Minar, the Jama Masjid are some of the wonders of architecture that crown the honor of Delhi.

Besides, Delhi has a delightful nightlife in its various discotheques, nightclubs and pubs.