In January 1998, I returned to Rajasthan, the fabled land of the maharajas and their great palaces. Many years earlier I had been to Jaipur, the pink city. This time I came to Rajasthan to visit the western outposts of Jodhpur and, a mere five minutes by air from the Pakistani border, the desert jewel of Jaisalmer. Both cities boast ancient forts rising out of the stark landscape and remind one of the images conjured up by tales of the Arabian Nights. The photographs which follow give a flavor of these two magnificent cities, including the Fort at Jodhpur, the incomparable Umaid Bhawan Palace, the markets and sights of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer city and fort, and the Narayan Niwas Palace in Jaisalmer. The Umaid Bhawan Palace is a real palace as well as an extraordinary hotel; the Narayan Niwas Palace is a pleasant well situated hotel in Jaisalmer which, like most Indian hostelries which use that term, never was (and never will be) a real palace. |
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