C15 derelict 'Ship Palace' Mandu

Mandu, Madhya Pradesh - so called because it stands on a long hill between 'two tanks' of water. The pavilion above is thought to look like a ship and was probably built by the pleasure loving Sultan Shivathud (1469-1500) for his large harem. The whole complex is enormous and everywhere there are step wells and water tanks for they relied totally on monsoon water. Unfortunately monsoons have been dropping less water these days so the step wells were empty.
 
 After a quick morning visit to the bathing ghats we had another fascinating drive – from the holy city of Ujjain to the fortified hilltop town of Mandu.  Until the 1500s it had been the home of Hindu Sultans but the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s army defeated Baz Bahadur in 1562. His adored and beautiful Queen Roopmati rather than submit committed suicide by taking poison but her entourage were captured. We explored amazing 14 & 15th century Hindu ruins, climbed to viewing points (you could see for ever all around) and wondered at the abilities of the craftsmen and architects, the transport and carving of enormous stones and the way of crushing  and treating limestone to make both mortar and plasterwork. The only thing the Mughals built was an enormous Majhid/mosque complex. Having left Ujjain with its bathing ghats and Hindu temples, devotees and sadhus we had driven through flat lands for well over 120 k. Everywhere it was fertile and irrigated, producing an enormous variety of crops.  Itinerant workers and lots of local women worked in the fields, hunkered down in rows over onions, removing the dead leaves (which will be fed to camels, goats and sheep) or picking green and chick peas.  The wheat here is well forward and will be ready for harvesting in a month.  India is totally self-sufficient with foods – rice, potatoes and wheat, pulses, onions and chillies are the staples. So it was surprising suddenly to find ourselves looking down into a huge gorge and then to discover the ruins of massive walls through  whose gateways we had to climb up and uphill to the fortified town of Mandu.
There is no wifi tonight in the town – they really are behind the times hereabout so this will be late.  The people still live in long, low, mud covered wattle or stone houses with roofs of clay tiles or corrugated iron although the government are now giving grants for people to build horrid square boxes of concrete.  I expect they will love them in the same way people loved the temporary houses put up in the war that were still being used until very recently in England.  During the monsoon all the mud washes off and they have to replaster them and their forecourt which is a mud and dung mixture – see yesterday’s extras. Picasa Pics
 
Thank you for all your lovely entries and splendid ideas about what constitutes dereliction.  I hand over duties now to http://www.blipfoto.com/60plus  who is taking over as host.  Next Sunday’s entries should be tagged DS67
My choices for hearts go to the following:
 
Apothecary7  for her mouldering – full of wonderful textures and colours
 
greg_lovett  for the cheek of cheating
 
cheekyvimto    for her barn

Mambo
  for her des res with trees
 
 
60plus  - for her ancient gatepost.