Hawa Mahal
The Hawa Mahal Palace is a masterpiece of Indian architecture, a wonderful creation of Indian masters in the form of a fifteen-meter five-story cone building. It is located in the center of the Indian city of Jaipur. The construction is dedicated to God Krishna, and his appearance is like a crown decorating his head.
The palace was erected in the 18th century by order of the Magaraji Sawai Pratap Singhe for use as a harem. It is part of the City Palace Complex. The main materials in the construction are pink stone and sandstone.
The architectural structure is similar to bee honeycombs, about a thousand windows are arranged here. Windows called Jarokhas are the main element of architecture, decorated with bars of the finest work. They were not only the decoration of the palace, but also an integral part of the ventilation system. With their help, a cool temperature is constantly maintained in Hawa Mahal and you can feel the light breeze blowing. Because of this, the second name of the structure – « Wind Palace » appeared.
Here he loved to rest Raj with his big family, especially in the summer, when you could hide from the heat in the walls of a cool building.
Window grilles were installed, first of all, so that the wives of the Indian rulers could observe the vibrant life of the neighborhood without showing their face. So the wives felt the spirit of freedom without wearing burqa.
A unique feature of Hawa Mahal is the complete absence of stairs, you can climb with the help of gentle climbs. To prevent slipping, special notches are applied to the floor surface.
The entire building is decorated with various patterns, on Moorish themes. In the middle there are many rooms, each of which has access to a balcony covered with a dome. The rosary of the palace gives many arches, columns, wall paintings. There is a sundial for which the accuracy of the time is checked up to a second.
Today, Hawa Mahal is a visiting card and the main attraction of the city of Jaipur.
On the territory of Hawa Mahal, heirs of the Maharajah clan live in one part of the palace, tourists are not allowed to enter here, and in the second there is a museum that provides a rich culture of the state of Rajasthan. The museum has three rooms – weapons, textiles and artifacts.
From the height of the last tier of the building, the beauty of the modern metropolis opens in the eye.