February 18, 2018. Rajasthan is not named “the land of kings” for nothing. Its cities feature monuments, forts and palaces of the different families that ruled the land over the centuries. The day before, I visited the City Palace in the center of the city’s old district. This day, I visited another one of such palaces–the Hawa Mahal.
Known as the ‘Palace of Winds’, the Hawa Mahal is a complex with a five-storey building that was built in 1799 by the ruling maharaja at the time. The main palace features a facade that looks like a honeycomb, decorated with almost a thousand small window openings adorned with intricate designs. The main reason behind the making of Hawa Mahal was for Rajput women who were not allowed to appear in public places. Through the small windows, the women were able to watch royal processions and see the city from behind the walls, without people from the outside being able to see those behind.
