Synopsis of some of our gallavanting (Or as Melanie says "another very long post")

We have been traveling so much in the past few months that I (Aaron) have not taken time to write about some of our adventures. We have been driving 1,500+ miles (2,400+ km) per month and seeing a number of out of the way places in the Thar desert. When we have free time, we take time to see what places of interest are in the surrounding areas.

I will take a few moments just to tell about some of the things we have seen and include some pictures. I hope I do not bore those of you who only read this for Josiah's updates and pictures, he will return soon- I promise.

Qutab Minar: Located in Delhi, this is the tallest brick minaret in the world. It is 273.8 feet high (72 meters) with a width at the base of 46.92 feet (14.3 meters) and a width at the top floor of 9.02 feet (2.75 meters). Construction was started in 1193 AD by Qutb-us-din Aibak, who built the foundation, the next three stories were built by Iitutmish and the las level was built by Firuz Shah Tughlug in 1368 AD.

Qutab Minar with the Iron Pole in the foreground. The perspective is such that it is difficult to see how enormous the Minar actually is.


This is one of the gates surrounding the Iron Pole and Minar. It is in ruins yet still shows the intricate detail of the stone carving, note the designs and Persian writing.

India Gate: Near many of the government buildings in Delhi stands India Gate. One of the most famous monuments in India, it is quite impressive and worth taking a few minutes to look and appreciate of those to whom it is dedicated to. Built between 1921 and 1931, India Gate commemorates those who laid their lives down for their country in the First World War as well as the Afghan Wars.. Written at the top of the monument is the following: "To the dead of the Indian armies who fell honoured in France and Flanders Mesopotamia and Persia East Africa Gallipoli and elsewhere in the near and the far-east and in sacred memory also of those whose names are recorded and who fell in India or the north-west frontier and during the Third Afghan War."

Josiah and Papa acting like typical tourists.

What I found more interesting that the colossal Qutab Minar was the iron pillar in just a few hundred feet from the Minar. It is over seven meters high and weighs over six tons. It was erected by Chandragupta Vikramaditya (375-413) as part of a Hindu temple which was subsequently destroyed by Aibak when he began construction of the Minar. The pole is entirely composed of iron but it has not rusted, there is only a brownish patina covering the outside, science has not been able to replicate this and the method of making this type of iron has been lost to history. Legend states that if you stand with your back to the pole and can get your arms around the pillar behind you, whatever wish you make will be granted. The pole now has a fence surrounding the pole so nobody is allowed to make a wish.

Khuldara: While in Jaisalmer, we were able to visit this really neat abandoned village known as Khuldara (named after the residents who were Kuldhar sub-caste of Paliwal Brahmins (priestly (highest) caste)). The village consists of the ruins of over 600 homes composed of stacked stones. The village is in complete ruins except two homes and a temple which have been reconstructed in order to show what it would have looked like in its prime. Khuldara was one of 84 villages abandoned over night in 1291 AD. Most of the villages were re-inhabited after the exodus but Khuldara had a curse placed on it by the Paliwal Brahmins against any who would re-inhabit the village after their departure. The locals consider this a haunted venue and most steer clear of the location. You may be wondering why there was such a sudden departure on the part of so many people from almost 100 villages. Legend states that the King of Jaisalmer (nearby city) was not a very nice person and liked women. He saw one who was said to be "doe-eyed and fair to behold" living at Khuldara. He took a fancy to her and decided that he had to have her. She would not go with him. Rather than face his wrath, the village as well as many of the surrounding villages fled carrying all that they could on their animals, carts, backs or in a bag. It is quite an eerie sight to look over the area and imagine what it must have looked like when it was full of people.

View of part of the village ruins from the roof of the restored temple.


Family photo in one of the restored rooms of a Khuldara building.


Doorway of a restored home in Khuldara.


Here is Josiah and Papa standing in the ruins of one of the homes. Mom was thankful that it was not her boys who made this mess...for once!

Jaisalmer Fort: This fort was built in 1156 by the Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal (hence the name Jaisalmer) and is the second oldest in Rajasthan. Since it is made of the local golden sandstone, it is often referred to as the Golden Fort. It is one of the oldest continuous "living" fort/cities in the world. It has been continuously inhabited since it was build over 850 years ago. It is not like any other cities which we have ever been to- it is quiet, peaceful and clean. It is one of our favorite places to visit when we are in town. There are several good restaurants within the walls of the fort, there is even a place to get apple pie and vanilla ice cream!

There are three walls one must pass through before entering the city within the fort. In this picture the second one (with built in bastions (of which there are 99- this would drive Monk the Detective crazy...why not a round number like 100?) as well as the inner wall are visible. The inner wall has round boulders as well as long boulders sitting atop it. The boulders as well as boiling oil and water were thrown over the walls when the inhabitants were being attacked. In the lower right, the opening shown is one of the four massive gates one must pass through before entering the walled city.


Jaisalmer Fort at night.


Jaisalmer during the day. In the foreground are Muslim tombstones dating from as recent as the 20th Century back hundreds of years. This is the burial ground of a group of Muslims who were traders from Kandahar, Afghanistan. They settled in Jaisalmer centuries ago because of the trade route which ran from Afghanistan through Jaisalmer and then to the rest of India. They are known as light skinned, average height of six feet and with peculiar speech. I liked the graves in the foreground of the picture.

Patwon Haveli: This is the most important haveli in Jaisalmer. A haveli is a building, the origin of the word is Persian and it means "an enclosed place". The term is typically applied to this type of building found in Pakistan and Northern India. Typically the building is four walls with an opening or courtyeard in the center. The insides are painted in some places (see Shekhawati Haveli section below) or carved intricately as in the Jaisalmer district. Patwon Haveli is actually five separate houses built by five Jain brothers in 1800 AD. It is so impressive to see the intricately carved golden sandstone (Jali work) and the amazing attention to detail. Jaisalmer is famous for its unique golden sandstone and Jali work.

The next two pictures are an attempt to show the incredible detail of Jali work in the unique golden sandstone. To get a better idea of what it looks like, click on the picture.




Sam Sand Dunes: These are the most famous sand dunes in South Asia. When you see a picture of a camel in the desert in India, it is almost a sure thing that the photo was taken at the Sam Sand Dunes. As you drive through the barren wasteland of the Thar Desert, you suddenly come across large sand dunes seemingly appearing from out of nowhere. After about 10 more minutes of driving they just as suddenly disappear. The sand dunes are 1.8 miles in length, 0.6 miles wide and up to 0.3 miles high. We were able to watch the sunrise over the dunes as we rode on camel back across the dunes. For additional picture see our post of 16 February 2008 titled Josiah in Jaisalmer.

The undulating sand dunes of Sam.


As you can see, the dunes are always shifting. This is one of the roads that has been reclaimed by the shifting dunes. This is the first of three roads which were paved along the side of the dunes, only the last one is still passable (barely).

Camel Research Center: Located in Bikaner, this is the only place of its kind in all of Asia. There are over 300 camels in residence and visitor are allowed to visit and learn everything they desire about camels. In the afternoon, you can visit when the camels return from grazing and as you stand there, hundreds trot past you leaving only inches to spare on either side of your shoulder, it is really quite exciting. There are medical, research, teaching and production facilities in the large compound. You can purchase items made from camel bone, hair and milk. The camel milk ice cream is one of our favorites.

This is a mother camel with her five day old baby. This was the smallest camel we have seen yet. It was still very wobbly when standing and walking.


Here is Josiah trying some ice cream made from camel milk. This type of Indian ice cream (whether made from cow or camel milk) is called kulfi and has lots of spices such as cardamom and cinnamon. Needless to say, Josiah really liked the kulfi.

Shekhawati Painted Havelis: This region in the Sikar district is known for its wonderfully and imaginatively painted havelis. We took just a few pictures as we drove through the area. On one of our future trips, we plan to stop to see some of the well preserved and restored havelis in the area.

Here is detail of a run down haveli in the Shekhawati region. I can only imagine what it would have looked like when it was new. I found this particular haveli interesting because it had a wrought iron railing with the bust of Queen Victoria in each panel as can be seen in this picture. Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1902 (India was part of the Empire, hence she was the Empress from 01 May 1876 until her death).

This is a picture of the same haveli, it is of the archway as you enter the inner courtyard.


This is the inner courtyard. This picture was taken while standing under the archway in the previous picture. Originally there would have been tiling and/or grass in the courtyard. There could also have been a fountain. Most if not all of the rooms in the haveli would open into this courtyard. The outer walls generally had nothing more than a few windows and an entrance. This was the reason why it was referred to as an enclosed place.

FatepurWater Tank: This is one of the centuries old water tanks in the area of Fatepur in the Sikar district. It was a place for locals to come and get water, a rare commodity in the desert. This particular water tank was used in the filming of the Bollywood movie Paheli.

The tall towers were built on the sides to make it more visible from a distance. The tower in the middle was used to measure the water depth.