The Blue City

It's the... eye of the tiger...
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Thinking of India, the animals that come to mind are tigers, elephants, cows, and camels. Elephants and cows we've seen wandering the streets throughout Asia, and camels we planned to trek with in Jaisalmer, but tigers - the majestic cats of India, we would not be seeing.

With this in mind, we headed over to the local zoo in the park. Though not as glorious a setting as the wildlife preserves throughout India, we would be guaranteed a glimpse of these cats who remain luxurious and grande no matter what environment.

Pile o' pots!
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The rest of the zoo consisted mostly of birds with pigeons seeming to hold the place of honor. The elusive crocodiles were apparently hiding underwater the entire time we were there. We also saw lions, a panther, and some monkeys, and it was all in all not a bad zoo. We were lucky enough to be there during feeding time. Who knew that turtles liked boiled rice too!?!

On Aaron's birthday we got up early to beat the heat and celebrate him being over the hill to 30 - yay!! After a quick stop at the marble memorial of Jaswant Thada, we hiked the hill up to Mehrangarh Fort. We walked around the fort while listening to the audio guide put together and narrated by the current Maharajah.

The fort over the blue city sunrise
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It was a spectacular Fort, and by far the best audio tour, peppered with stories and factual information, some of which were related by members of the royal family and prior residents of the fort. Built on top of a 125 meter high plateau above the town, in its 500 years of existence, the fort has never fallen to invading forces. In addition to the natural defence provided by the plateau's sheer rock sides, the fort has a series of four gates that provide the only entrance. Just steps before the last gate, the path makes a 90 degree turn which was sufficient to break the momentum of any invading forces attempting to ram through the door.

Public drinking station !
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Overlooking the city from the fort we could see why the town is also known by another name, 'the blue city'. Many of the buildings in the new part, and most in the old part of town have been painted blue. The blue color is symbolic of the Brahman casteand the high Brahman population here is the most popular explanation for the blue colored buildings.

View of the blue city from the rooftop of our homestay
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According to the townspeople, the blue color has the additional advantage of keeping the area cool, and also acts as a bug repellant. I'm not sure if I believe it, but I did notice that there were not many bugs around and it wasn't too hot. Then again, we have been adjusting to the Indian summer heat, and being close to the desert perhaps there are not so many waterholes for those mosquitos!