Meherangarh
Mechrangarh is a powerful fortress on the stone plateau of Marvar, towering above the city of Jodhpur in the state of Rajasthan. It is one of the largest and well-protected protective structures of antiquity.
The fortress began to build a prince from the Rajput dynasty - Roa Jodha in 1459, and until 1943 members of the dynasty lived here. In those turbulent times, it was especially important to have a powerful fortress, and the capital of Rajasthan was also moved here. The Mehrangarh fortress is located at an altitude of 125 meters, and its name with Hindi translates as a "conquered place". An interesting legend is associated with the construction of the fortress. According to her, a bird lord Cheeria Natji used to lead a hermit lifestyle on a hill. After he was kicked out, he cursed Roa Jodha, which caused a shortage of water in the fortress. To appease the lord of the birds, the prince in the fort built a house and a temple for him for reflection near the cave. Also, in order for everything to be fine at the fort, he ordered to find a volunteer who would be buried alive in the foundation of Mehrangarh. It was Raj Ram Meghval, who was promised in return to take care of his family. Until now, his descendants continue to dwell in the fort.
You can get to the Mehrangarh through the 7th gate, the most famous of them are the Victory Gate, erected in honor of the victory over the cities of Bikaner and Jaipur Maharajah Man Singh in 1806. On some gates and walls you can notice traces of cannon nuclei, and also on one of the walls you can see handprints. They were left by 15 wives of the Maharaja Man Sing, who died in 1847. After his death, his wives went into the husband’s funeral pyre and burned alive there, but before that they left the prints of the henna on the wall so that everyone would remember the customs and fidelity. Later, these prints for fixing were knocked out in the wall, the walls themselves reach 36 meters in height, and in some areas their thickness is 21 meters.
Today, the fortress is a museum in which only part of the structures are open to the public. This is the place where the rulers were crowned - the Palace of Pearls, the Palace of Flowers - the royal harem, the Palace of Glimes. Palaces separate small yards, halls will smash anyone with their luxury. Fans of antiquity should go to the museum of Fort Mehrangarh, where musical instruments, costumes, furniture, a golden throne, jewelry, palanquins, weapons, paintings are presented. In the fort itself, you can still see ancient guns, from which in the old days they shot at the enemy.
