Zenana Mahal
City palace is one of the most famous places in Pink city. At the city palace, the royal family lived for many decades. It shows the royal architecture and the traditions of the royal families. It is one of the most visited tourist’s spots in Jaipur as it is located in the heart of old city of Jaipur and covers around one-seventh area of the whole city. The city palace shows a fusion of Mughal and the Rajasthan tradition. The courtyards, gardens and buildings are embedded with marbles and these changes were done by Raja Jai Singh successors, which adds more beauty to the existing dignity of the palace.
Zenana Mahal, the Queen’s Palace, is an integral part of Jaipur City Palace. Zenana Mahal is also known as ladies Chambers. This chamber shows a large and diverse array of art crafts. The Rajas were very possessive about their queens so they built Zenana Mahal as an impregnable fortress without even window but the vast space within is an enthralling sight for visitors.
The ceiling of this chamber has unique frescoes, which are preserved using jewel dust of semiprecious stones. The other art facts on display include many pistols attached to it. Queen Victoria represented the sword to Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh which is inlaid with rubies and emeralds, guns serving as walking sticks and a small canon which could be mounted on a camel's back and many more. Featuring balconies, exquisite alcoves, colored windows and intricately designed tiled floors and walls, the Zenana Mahal served as the women quarters.
The Zenana section of the City Palace and allow the ladies of the court to view the life of the city from behind pardha. The main striking feature of this is when it is viewed in the early morning time, lit with a golden light of the sunrise. The height of the palace is about 50 feet or 15 meters from the high base. It forms part of the City Palace and extends the Zenana or the chambers of the harem. Its original intention was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen. The grand City Palace and the bustling Siredeori Bazaar which is the unique selling protocol of the beautiful Hawa Mahal.
Hawa Mahal, designed with small windows, has a height of 50 feet from its base. This structure, built on a thin shield or podium approximately fifty feet high, has walls less than a foot thick. Red and pink color sandstones are used in the construction by Lal Chand Ustad. Hawa Mahal is famous for its windows or ‘Jharokhas' which enable free circulation of air within the structure
It has five storeis .The side facing the street outside the palace complex has 953 small windows, and the breeze (hawa) which circulates through these windows gives the palace its name, and keeps it cool even in hot month.