Page 382 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

380  WESTERN INDIA

q Ajmer sculptures dating from the 4th
to the 12th centuries.
Ajmer district. 135 km (84 miles)
SW of Jaipur. * 485,200. £ @ Around Anasagar Lake, to
n Rajasthan Tourism, near Khadim the northwest of the city, are
Hotel, (0145) 262 7426. _ Urs (Oct). elegant marble pavilions built
by Emperor Shah Jahan in the
Ajmer is famous throughout the 17th century. They are set on the
subcontinent for the holy Muslim lake’s banks, in a pretty garden
shrine, Dargah Sharif, the tomb called Daulat Bagh. North of
of the great Sufi saint, Khwaja the city, on the summit of Beetli
Moinuddin Chishti (1143–1235). Hill, is the ruined 12th-century
Located in the southwest corner Taragarh Fort, which affords
of the city, the saint’s marble- spectacular views of Ajmer
domed tomb is at the heart of and the surrounding
the Dargah complex, which is
virtually a township in itself.  Nasiyan Temple
It includes a bazaar and two Pilgrims at Ajmer’s Dargah Sharif, India’s SM Soni Marg. Open daily. &
marble mosques, built by the holiest Muslim shrine E Ajmer Government Museum
Mughal emperors Akbar and Near bus stand. Open daily. &
Shah Jahan in the 16th and 17th arch is different, and the numerous
centuries. Akbar was Chishti’s columns have elaborate carvings.
most famous devotee, and once In the southeast corner of w Nagaur
walked barefoot all the way Ajmer is Mayo College, one of Nagaur district. 137 km (85 miles)
from Agra to Ajmer, a distance India’s best public schools. An NE of Jodhpur. * 83,400. @
of 363 km (226 miles), as excellent example of Indo- _ Cattle Fair (Jan/Feb).
thanksgiving after the birth Saracenic architecture, it was set
of his son Salim, the future up in 1875 by the viceroy, Lord This little desert town, midway
Emperor Jahangir. Mayo, as an “Eton of the East” for between Jodhpur and Bikaner, is
Millions of pilgrims come to Rajput princes. Its early students dominated by Ahichhatragarh
Ajmer for the saint’s annual Urs came accompanied by family Fort, dating to the 12th century.
(death anniversary) in the retainers and private tutors, and In the mid-18th century, the ruler
seventh month of the some, like the prince of Jodhpur received the fort
Islamic lunar calendar, of Alwar, even brought as a gift from the Mughals and
when spirited Sufi along their own embellished it with a charming
musicians sing the elephants. Behind the pleasure palace. Several of its
saint’s praises in front 19th-century Nasiyan chambers have exquisite
of his tomb. A special Temple, in the heart frescoes, now being carefully
rice pudding, cooked of the old city, is the restored. The palace also has
in giant iron cauldrons, Svarna Nagari Hall, lovely water channels deco rated
is offered to devotees. vividly decorated with with fish-scale patterns and
West of the Dargah Calligraphy, coloured-glass mosaics ornamental spouts, as well as
Sharif is Ajmer’s Adhai-Din-ka-Jhonpra and gilded wooden an ingenious system of airducts
architectural gem, the figures, recreating that used to supply the inner
Adhai-Din-ka-Jhonpra, or “Hut scenes from Jain mythology. rooms with cool air.
of Two-and-a-Half Days”. This The Ajmer Government The Nagaur Cattle Fair rivals
strange name is said to derive Museum, also in the old city, the Pushkar Fair (see p379),
from the duration of a religious is located in the legendary and is a dazzling kaleidoscope
fair that used to be held here. Emperor Akbar’s fortified palace. of animals, crafts and people,
Though in ruins, the early 13th- Its exhibits include impressive including Nagaur’s famous
century mosque complex, built puppeteers, whose dramatic
into a hillside, is most impressive. shows bring alive popular
Its main glory is its exquisite Rajasthani legends and folklore.
seven-arched screen in front
of the colonnaded hall. Each

Exuberantly decorated seven-arched screen at the Adhai-Din-ka-Jhonpra, Ajmer
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p699 and pp712–13

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