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City Palace
City Palace towers over the Pichola Lake. Maharana Uday
Singh
initiated in the
construction of
the palace but succeeding Maharanas
added several palaces and structures to the complex
retained a surprising uniformity to the design. The
entry to the Palace is from the
Hati
Pol, the Elephant
gate. The Bari
Pol or the Big gate brings you to the
Tripolia, the Triple gate. It was once a custom that
the Maharana would weigh under this gate in gold and
silver, which
was distributed to the populace. It is
also now the main ticket office. Balconies, cupolas
and towers surmount the palace to give a wonderful
view of the lake. Suraj
Gokhada or the balcony of
the sun is where the Maharana would grant public
audiences mainly to boost the morale of the people in
difficult times. The Mor
Chawk is the peacock square
and gains its name from the vivid blue mosaic in glass
of a peacock that decorates its walls.
The main part of the palace is now preserved as a museum
displaying a large and diverse array of artefacts. Down
steps from the entrance is the armoury museum exhibiting
a huge collection of protective gear, weapons including
the lethal t wo-pronged sword. The City Palace museum
is then entered through the Ganesh Deori meaning the
door of Lord Ganesh. This leads to the Rajya Angan,
the royal courtyard that is the very spot where Maharana
Udai Singh met the sage who told him to
find
a city
here. The rooms of the palace are superbly decorated
with mirror tiles and paintings. Manak
Mahal
or the
Ruby
Palace
has
a
lovely collection of glass and
mirror work while Krishna
Vilas
display a rich collection
of miniature paintings. Moti
Mahal
or the pearl
palace has beautiful mirror work and the Chini
Mahal
has ornamental tiles all over. The
Surya
Chopar
or the sun square depicts a huge ornamental sun
symbolising the sun dynasty to which the Mewar dynasty
belongs. The Bari
Mahal
is a central garden with view of the
city. Some more beautiful paintings can be seen in the
Zenana
Mahal
or the ladies chamber, which leads to Lakshmi
Chowk
a beautiful white pavilion.
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