City Palace

City Palce showcases a perfect blend of traditional Rajasthani and Mughal art and architecture. Amazingly, the City Palace complex houses several palatial structures. City Palace is one of the major attraction in Jaipur and a visit to this palace unveiled the impact of Mughal and Hindu architecture particularly on this monument. In the heart of the old city of Jaipur, the City Palace occupies a large area, divided into a series of courtyards, gardens, and buildings.

The outer wall was built by Maharaja Jai Singh II, but other additions are much more recent, some dating back to the beginning of this century. The palace is a wonderful blend of Rajasthani and Mughal architecture, a major tourist attraction.

Mubarak Mahal, built by Maharaja Madho Singh, is one of the more important palaces inside the City Palace Complex. It has a beautifully carved marble gate with heavy brass doors on either side of this gate. Beyond this gate, lies the 'Diwan-E-Khas'- a meeting place where the maharajas used to entertain a select few.

And there, across the paved square, with its intricate decorations and manuscripts in Persian and Sanskrit lies the 'Diwan-E-Aam' - the meeting place with the general public.

The palace also contains a museum that showcases some of the best art and weaponry of my people, the warrior Rajputs. The armory dates back to the 15th century and contains many of the ingenious and tricky weapons, which the warrior Rajputs was famous for. A section of museum also contains dresses and costumes of the former Maharajas and Maharanis of Jaipur. Each floor has a distinctive name and is a place of sheer beauty and luxury.

Paintings, floral decorations, mirror walls and ceilings in the traditional style adorn the palace. The uppermost storey is, appropriately, called the Mukut Mahal - or the Crown Building. Outside the buildings, you may see a large silver vessel. This was used by former Maharajas to take drinking water with him to England. Being a devout Hindu, he could not drink the English water!