Moti Mahal in Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
The Mehrangarh Fort of Jodhpur was founded 15th century by Rathore Rajputs. Today this fort is converted in to a museum, managed by the royal trust. All palaces within the fort are not yet open to public. Those palaces that are accessible and open for public viewing are stunningly beautiful.
Palaces in Mehrangarh Fort
Mehrangarh Fort is so tightly packed with iconic rooms of different palaces that you will need to do a little bit of planning to cover all the period rooms. The 5 GRAND rooms of the fort are:
- Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace)
- Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors)
- Phool Mahal (Palace Of Flowers)
- Takhat Vilas (Maharaja Takhat Singh’s Chamber)
- Jhanki Mahal (The Peeping Palace).
As you move room to room, keep a track of time. Some of them can leave you in a trance. I found Moti Mahal to be so magical.
Moti Mahal in Mehrangarh Fort
Moti Mahal, the largest period room of Mehrangarh Fort is most stunning of all the period rooms there, built by Raja Sur Singh. It is difficult to exit the room without wishing to return once more in this life time. Such is the splendor here!
Most beautiful of all rooms of Moti Mahal is the Durbar Takhat or throne room. The throne in which Kings sat addressing his ministers is there untouched and decorated; it is almost as if a king could walk in any time. The throne is called Srinagar Chowki.
The octagonal throne in the center of the hall is impressive, magnificent, with seats for the courtiers or the general public on either side. It is the same Royal Throne of Jodhpur. Raise your head a bit to see the balconies that were built for the five queens of the Maharaja. These balconies enabled the queens to attend the durbar.
The Royal Throne of Jodhpur
The deep alcoves that you see above the doors are actually secret balconies for the queens to silently listen to the court proceedings and may be provide invaluable inputs to the king later.
Secret balconies for Queens.
One look at the gold filigree ceiling and your eyes will be glued there. They are covered with mirrors and gilt and is sparkling-ly beautiful. The lime plaster used in the walls of the room was mixed with finely crushed shells which gave the walls a pearl like luster and hence the name.
The windows are designed with stained glasses of different colors. Lights filtering in, in different colors, it is so magical you won’t want to move out from there.
Today when I look at these Mehrangarh Fort pictures, fond memories flood my mind and I wish I could visit again.
Timings: The place is open every day of the week from 9 am to 5 am
Tickets: 20INR for Indian tourists while for foreign nationals it is 250INR per person.
Best time to visit: It gets really hot during summer in Rajasthan the best time to visit the Moti Mahal would be from November to February.
Other sights: You can visit Unmaid Bhawan Palace Museum, other mahals (palaces).
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(This was first posted on Oct 27, 2008.)
Lovely shots.
Indrani – Let me offer you the Arte y Pico award for your blog … because I like your photographs of your trips and tours. Do see my post November 2
Wonder how’s like to stay there for one day like a king! LOL
great pictures…
did they really listen to their better-halves (may have been many though!)
Wonderful! And thank you for the explanation!
Cheers, Klaus
Colorful photos. I have scrolled through your blog and everything is so different from my corner of the world. Thank you for sharing 🙂
very interesting place very well captured. i really like those colorful windows
Pleasant pictures. Was looking at the throne for a long time. What great responsibilities the person sitting in that, had..!!
well I love to travel a lot… but ‘have sacrificed everything for my pets. My kennel, my home is now my Taj Mahal, Hawa Mahal anad everything!!! I just chanced to drop by your blog and found it to be really really cool. Liked it very much!
I seriously run a couple of dog blogs too… dropping by some of your animal snaps, I thought you might like my blogs too. Just check it out and let me know what your think.
http://aringsburgkennel.blogspot.com
and
http://welcomedoglovers.blogspot.com
Also please lemme know if we can exchange links.
The colors are so vivid and those windows beautiful! Thanks for sharing the history and view.
wonder how one lives in these places
This is absolutely stunning.. colourful.. gorgeous. But I can’t help but see the flag poles behind the throne as a giant cutlery set. 😉
This is a lovely post with beautiful pictures. Thank you.
Indrani, I wish you and your loved ones a happy Diwali. Have a great time.
– celine
Thanks for the tour ! wonderful !
Love the colours in the windows.
WOW…beautiful!!
Just beautiful!
Oh I so enjoyed this post, really interesting and that glass is stunning
That’s is a beautiful place. Thank you for showing us so much of the building.
What an absolutely amazing place! Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful photos with us!
Ooooooh, fantastic!
Outstanding pics. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers!
Regina In Pictures
Outstanding pics. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers!
Regina In Pictures
Thank you so much for the wonderful tour in this great ancient building.
Well you said it best — impressive, magnificent…
Great your World memory and traditions..
Very beautiful Indrani it’s tempting..I could only wish to be there..
Wonderful palace.My husband was in India at the beginning of the year and brought back many beautiful photos.
Thank you for the wonderful tour. This 2nd week of meme really makes us appreciate the many places that we don’t usually see or ever had a chance to visit like the one you showed me in this post. Hope you get to have time to check my world too. Another great job and more to come in the coming weeks.
What a magnificent palace. Those stained glass windows are really remarkable. Thanks for sharing, Indrani.
wow!!!nice and beautiful interiors.
Lovely.
Ooh, I wish I had been there – such lovley pictures of such beautiful interiors! Thanks Indrani.
Most stunning colours. Those glass paintings are really great, they make me happy.
wow..now this is really tempting
Great photos… Yes !