Today's Indian Palace: Jaipur Palace Complex

The city of Jaipur was founded by Sawai Jai Singh on 18 November 1727, a date selected after careful consultation with astrologers. The original design included a royal palace, but that original palace has been eclipsed by later additions. The most important is the Hawa Mahal or Palace of the Breezes, built in 1799 by his grandson Sawai Pratap Singh. The architect was Lal Chand Usta.

Interior details.

View over the women's quarters.

Off the courtyard behind the Hawa Mahal is the Mubarak Mahal, built in the late nineteenth century by British architect Swinton Jacob for Maharaja Madho Singh II. The style is a fusion of Indian and European elements.

The audience hall.

The main residential building is the nineteenth-century Chandra Mahal.

The most famous part of the Jaipur palace complex is the Jantar Mahal, an observatory complex that includes an array of outsized instruments. Above are an overall view and a closeup of one of the giant sundials, which measure time to an accuracy of a few seconds.

These were intended for observing important constellations.

Another famous element of the palace complex is these enormous silver vessels, used to store sacred water from the Ganges. They are said to be the largest silver vessels in the world.