The Golden City

The Golden City of Jaisalmer

In the Indian state of Rajasthan, high upon a rocky crag, lies the city of Jaisalmer. It glows gold in the morning and evening light.  It is no ordinary city. Dating from the 12th century, it is created from yellow sandstone, hence the color and the name. Buildings are ornately carved with exquisite detail. Architects take pride in insuring even mirrored sides of an entry way are minutely unique. The craftsmanship is remarkable.

The city houses shops, hotels and ancient palace homes and temples.

The Desert Safari

Beyond the city, the Thar desert stretches  to the border of Pakistan. To enjoy the traditional camels, dance and music of this region, we headed out in safari vehicles to overnight in a remote desert camp.

We spent the sunset hours, photographing the camels trekking across the sand dunes and the dancers entertaining us.

As dusk settled in we gathered around the campfire for dinner and traditional music. The (almost) full moon glowed overhead. It was as if we had been transported back in time.

The Desert Festival

One of the reasons for our visit to Jaisalmer was the annual Desert Festival. It boasts a myriad of events from a processional parade with beautiful ladies in full dress, to fully decked out camels, dancers, and local tribes. It proceeds to the fair grounds where a variety of events take place from Camel races, to fancy Military drills, to a mustache competition, to a tug-of-war competition of the locals vs the foreigners.

Golden City Outskirts

To capture the city at sunset, we went to hilltop where musicians setup in the late afternoon providing music by which to enjoy the sunset and watch the city turn to gold.

Early the next morning we captured sunrise on Gadisar Lake before our return to Dehli

It was a wonderful finish to our two week photography tour.

It is all about the light, especially the golden light on the golden city.