Watson Lake

Watson Lake is really a reservoir, built in the early 1900s.

As the water is caught between granite cliffs and rock formations, it makes for a very pretty view.

Jahaz Mahal

The lake that sprang up at Hauz-i-Shamsi was such a nice place that a palace was built there:  Jahaz Mahal, which means "boat palace".

Maybe the royal folks took their boats out on the lake, but it was for sure a nice getaway on a hot Delhi day.

These days it's not a lot more than an old brick building beside a weedy pond.
The garden beside it is a favorite of cricket players.
The guards in the palace--protecting it from vandals, I guess--spend their time yelling at the boys who climb into the moat to retrieve their cricket balls.

There are a few hints as to what might have been palace grandeur 600 years ago--blue tiled chatris, carved red sandstone pillars, echoing arches.

I wanted to go up to the second story and see the view over the lake and neighborhood.
"It's locked, do you have the key?" I asked one of the hovering guards.
"Yes, it's locked.  Yes, I have the key," he replied.
"You have the key?" I asked again.
"Yes," he reached into his pocket to prove it, happy to show me.
"Can we go up the stairs?"
"But this is not allowed," he answered.
"Oh."
We both looked sad at this news.

Again, I have to go back when there are no cricket players around try again.
There are so many places that are not closed off to visitors that it's surprising when a door is actually closed and locked.  And often it's a door I want to open.

Ah irony.
Maybe like this fake arched window, there's really nothing on the other side to see.
But when I'm exploring the ruins of an old palace, I like to see as much as I can for myself.

Hauz-i-Shamsi

One day while building his city in south Delhi, Iltutmish had to decide where to dig a well.  The people needed water and he needed a good location.
He went to sleep on it.  As he was sleeping, he dreamed that The Prophet came and showed him where to dig the well.  In the morning, he rushed out to the spot he had seen in his dream and there he found the hoof print of a horse.  The Prophet's horse, he said.

So his men started digging and soon water rushed up, filling the area with enough water to make a lake.
Iltutmish's choice of well location was blessed and there was enough water for the people.

That's the story, anyway.

A pavilion was built in center of the lake to mark the spot where the hoof print was found.

I read that a replica of the rock with the hoof print is still in place.
But when I arrived at the lake--now less than half it's original size--the gate to the pavilion was all locked up and I couldn't get close enough to see.

I want to know if there's really a rock with a hoof print in there.  But there was no one around to let me in.  The gate wasn't even padlocked, it was wired shut.

Maybe some day when the cricket-playing kids are all in school I'll go back and climb over the fence....
maybe...

Jal Mahal

The Jal Mahal is so pretty.
I like to just look at it.  
And so here are just a few different views of it as seen from around the Jaipur area. 

The palace as seen from the hills above the city.
Mansagar lake is artificial; created just for the purpose of surrounding the lake with water.
Both the lake and the palace have undergone extensive restoration in the past ten years in order to save it from damage.

The building is five stories high, four of which are underwater.  Someday I want to go and see it up close.

The palace in the lake.
Ah yes, it's a lovely sight.

Sagar lake

Sagar lake is a man made lake just behind the Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur.  It was most likely used as a source of water.  People would take it up to the fort in pots, some carried by elephants.

Today it's a picnic area and a favorite bathing spot for these buffalo.

Classic fountains

There are fountains in the Haus Khaz lake.
Or the remains of fountains.

"Look," I said to my friend, "It looks like a sunken boat."
"With water shooting out of it?" she queried.
It was odd, I admit.

As we walked all the way around the lake, we came across several that had been pulled out of the water. The remains of something called "classic fountains". And they did resemble boats.

There were others that were still afloat in the water, too, though not working.

The whole lake, it seems, is kind of a mess, as if no one has cared about it for a long while.
It has potential, but it's a long ways from its heyday at the time of Firoz Shah.