jaisalmer - in a city of rough and tumble

This photo only courtesy of the journeyers.

it is the land of rough and tumble, a golden city that rises high from the Trikuta Hill, containing 99 enormous bastions that hide havelis of crumbling beauty. that is how the lonely planet describes this alluring city in the northwest of india. this is a place that exceeded anything that i've ever imagined.

in jaisalmer, time has indeed stood still. the bhatia market surrounding the imposing jaisalmer fort is an interesting place to roam. local produce and handicarfts are being sold by men and women dressed in spectacularly colorful (some would even say "lurid") garbs. even their tourist center or post office looks like they came straight from fairy tale stories about the arabs, the desert of days gone by.

i meandered through the narrow streets filled with houses carved from sandstones. even the local houses look intricately designed. the city, after all, was built in 1156 by the Rajput ruler Jaisala (thus the name).

i am glad to see this magical city way before it starts collapsing (it is one of the endangered cities of the world, according to UNESCO).