India: A Rajasthani guard and an elephant guard the gateway into one of the City Palace courtyards, Jaipur, Rajasthan

The City Palace was built between 1729 and 1732, initially by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. He planned and built the outer walls, and later additions were made by successive rulers right up to the 20th century.

Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, after whom the city was named. The city today has a population of 3.1 million. Jaipur is known as the Pink City of India.

The city is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into six sectors separated by broad streets 34 m (111 ft) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east. The Palace quarter encloses the sprawling Hawa Mahal palace complex, formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort, which was the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. The observatory, Jantar Mantar, is a World Heritage Site.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia