The state of Rajasthan has a number of well-planned and designed big forts for the simple reason, in the past this area was vulnerable to enemy attack from the NW regions and also from the Muslim rulers of Delhi. Many of them were built to withstand long siege hence were self-contained, including copious supply of water to the fort premises.
Located high atop a hill, Amer Fort or Amber Fort in Amer town of Rajasthan is an important tourist destination. It was in 2013, Amer Fort, along with five other forts of Rajasthan, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the group Hill Forts of Rajasthan". This palace, along with near-by Jaigarh Fort, is on the Cheel ka Teela (Hill of Eagles) of the same Aravalli range of hills. These two forts forming a complex are interconnected by a subterranean passage, to be used as an escape route in case of an emergency
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Diwan-i-Am, Amer Fort, Rajasthan, India
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Amar Palace, Rajasthan, India c1880 by simpson. en.wikipedia.org.  Amer fort, Rajasthan, en.wikipedia.org |
Overlooking the Maota lake, the main source of water for the Amer palace, visitors will be much impressed by its sheer size, large ramparts and series of gates and cobbled paths. It is not that easy to access the fort by the enemies. Close to the pink city of Jaipur, just 11 km, the big fort is quite known for its fine architecture and distinctive artistic styles native to Rajasthan. Taking inspiration from Mogul style architecture, the builder handled the construction work diligently using a blend of red sandstone and marble and this approach imparts opulence to many building, particularly the palace that is laid out on four levels each with a courtyard and other features.
The Amer Fort is also popularly known as the Amer Palace and it was the residence of the Rajput Maharajahs and their families; The palace consists of the Diwan-i-Aam, or "Hall of Public Audience", the Diwan-i-Khas, or "Hall of Private Audience", the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace), or Jai Mandir, and the Sukh Niwas. In the latter the special feature is it is cool indoors and the cool condition is created artificially by breeze that blows over a water cascade within the palace. The second courtyard, up the main stairway of the first level courtyard, has an important hall. It houses the Diwan-i-Aam or the Public Audience Hall where the ruler will listen to the grievances of the common people. Built with a double row of columns, the Diwan-i-Aam is a raised platform with 27 colonnades, each of which is mounted with an elephant-shaped capital, with galleries above it. As the name suggests, the Raja (King) held audience here to hear and receive petitions from the public
There is a temple dedicated to Shila Devi, a goddess of the Chaitanya cult. It was given to Raja Man Singh when he defeated the Raja of Jessore (in Bangla Desh), Bengal in 1604, The temple is at the entrance to the palace near the fort's Ganesh Gate.
The town of Amer and the Amber Fort were first built by the Meena's - people belonging to a particular caste (details are vague). Later the fort and the near-by area came under th administration of Raja Man Singh I. Raja Man Singh had 12 queens so he built 12 rooms, one for each queen. Each room had a staircase connected to the King’s room but the queens were not to go upstairs. But, Raja Jai Singh had only one queen so he built one room equal to three old queen’s rooms.
https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/ic/id/6544/
