Sunday, February 13, 2011

Povestiri din Rajahstan 21. Orasul albastru, Jodhpur / Stories of Rajahsthan 21. The Blue City Jodhpur

The Blue City or the Sunny City of Jodhpur was the half of our journey. We arrived in Jodhpur exactly on my birthday. It is the second largest city in Rajahsthan and a "must" (along with Jaipur and Jaisalmer) for those who visit also other regions in India and do not have so much time allocated for Rajahsthan.

The founder of the city was Rao Jodha, leader of the Rathore clan, a very powerful Rajput clan in Rajahsthan. On 1459 he erected the Mehranghar Fort. One century later, a 10 km long wall has been constructed to defend the city.

Jodhpur, like other big centers, was on the Silk Way, so the rulers have made their fortunes from taxes imposed for those traveling from Gujarat to Delhi to sell opium, silk, precious wood, copper, dates, coffee, etc. The city is famous for the jodhpur trousers and spices. 

We stayed very near Gantha Ghar (The Clock Tower), which is surrounded by bazaars and markets. There are a lot of hostels and guesthouses in the area. We only had little time to stroll in the old town, as we have been there  for half a day and two major objectives were on our priorities list.

Am ajuns in Jodhpur - "orasul albastru" sau "orasul soarelui"- de ziua mea. Suntem cam la mijlocul calatoriei acum. De ce i se spune "orasul albastru"? Fiindca foarte multe case (mai ales in orasul vechi) sunt varuite in albastru, asa cam cum mai gasesti la noi in Maramures....Acest lucru, se spune, ajuta la a tine la distanta arsita verii si a pastra caldura, iarna. Pe de alta parte, unii mai cred ca aceasta culoare nu place insectelor, mai ales tantari si termite si de aceea este utilizata la varuirea caselor...
Jodhpur, vazut de la Jaswant Thada
Jodhpur, ajuns al doilea oras ca marime in Rajahstan, se afla in tinutul Marwar, la o altitudine de 230 m deasupra nivelului marii. Originea sa este fortul ridicat de seful clanului rajput Rathore, Rao Jodha in 1459.
Fortul Mehrangarh, vazut de la Jaswant Thada
Fiindca si Jodhpur, ca alte centre mari din actualul Rajahstan, se afla pe drumul matasii, averea conducatorilor sai provenea din taxele platite de negustorii care transportau pe aici, pe drumul ce lega Delhi de Gujarat, opiu, matase, lemn pretios, cafea, cupru, curmale s.a. In plus, clanul Rathore a sprijinit mereu mogulii din Delhi, ceea ce i-a adus numai favoruri si i-a intarit autoritatea in regiune...

La un secol dupa ridicarea sa, un zid lung de 10 km a fost construit pentru a apara orasul.

Stand efectiv doar o jumatate de zi aici si avand de vazut doua obiective mari, timpul nu ne-a ajuns ca sa hoinarim prea mult pe strazile orasului vechi. Ne-am plimbat putin in jurul hotelului, care se afla aproape de Turnul cu ceas ( Ghanta Ghar). In jurul acestuia se afla bazare si piete si, dimineata la plecare, am vazut zona plina de lume.Tot aici sunt o multime de hosteluri si case de oaspeti ieftine, asa ca zona este plina de turisti, Jodhpurul fiind - alaturi de Jaipur si Jaisalmer - locuri "obligatorii" pentru cei care se abat prin Rajahstan. Multi se limiteaza doar la acestea daca viziteaza si alte provincii din India.

Jodhpur este cunoscut ca loc de  origine al pantalonului care poarta chiar acest nume (pantalon strans pe picior, de la genunchi la glezna). Piata orasului este faimoasa si pentru mirodenii, cu care se face inca un comert infloritor.

Sunt multe obiectivele pe care turistul le poate vizita aici, noi insa ne-am limitat la ceea ce veti vedea in zilele urmatoare.
orasul vechi
piata in care se afla Ghanta Ghar (Turnul cu ceas), vazuta de la fort
 la pravalia cu mirodenii, ceaiuri, cafea si betisoare parfumate
 detaliu la Turnul cu ceas
 la taclale, in piata



15 comments:

VP said...

I can imagine the smell in that shop, and the painted shutters are gorgeous!

Traveling Hawk said...

You bet the smell was wonderful, VP! I bought some spices, incense, teas and aromated coffee and they packed all in a muslin bag in shades of green and golden colors!

RIZALENIO said...

What a BLUEtiful city...I can live here because I love color blue. Haha.

Looking at the people living here, the place looks cold. Is it? Cold winds with sunshine. Wow, thats a nice weather.

Thanks for sharing these photos again, my friend...and the stories too.

Your photo with a resident there (or is it your travel buddy?) is my favorite.

Happy Sunday.

Traveling Hawk said...

It wasn't cold, Rizalenio. Only blue is a cold color...Nevertheless, the total impression is great.

The fellow in that photo is the shop owner, glad that I left my money there :)

magda said...

I like το ending the post with children's faces!
I never imagined that the blue color is so protective properties!
Very interesting and beautiful photos you!
Good week

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Magda, for your visit here.

Madalina Dascalu said...

ultima poza... no comment..

Traveling Hawk said...

Sunt grozave fetitele, asa-i?

Madalina Dascalu said...

da

Unknown said...

albastru in cer, albastru si pe pamant. impresia mea e ca, pata asta de culoarea in auriul predominat pina acuma, mai degraba vine ori de la cer ori de la apa - decat alte explicatii. ma rog, asa imi place mie sa cred, sau poate ii cred prea metafizici ca popor. si intr-adevar, ultima fotografie e ca un fel de contrapunct la fotografia de ansamblu cu orasul si zidul cetatii (cumva un fel de - istorie si prezent).

Traveling Hawk said...

Greu de spus, pharaonx, cum sunt ei ca popor. Daca ai trai impreuna cu ei mai multi ani, poate ai sti sau poate nici atunci...trebuie sa te fii nascut indian...noi ii cunoastem prin interpretarea altora ceea ce e indoielnic...

Joop Zand said...

Very very very nice
all these pictures !!

greetings, Joop

Traveling Hawk said...

Thank you, Joop Zand! Have a great week!

cartim said...

Mamaaaaa ce albastru, este fantastic...
Mie caruia imi place aceasta culoare ...

Traveling Hawk said...

Ei, atunci trebuie sa mergi neaparat acolo :)