On Friday, Mervin took me to see a few places around Bangalore. I have a lot of pictures, so I am splitting the post into two parts. This first one is dedicated to Bangalore Palace.
Construction of Bangalore Palace began in 1874, and the first iteration was completed in 1878. Additions and improvements have continued even into the modern day, as a space that is used as a wedding hall was more recently added. The Palace was built for the Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X by his British Guardians, as a place for him to stay as he was educated and prepared to rule. It has remained in the family since, although the overall grounds have been divided between the siblings in the family.
We arrived at around 11, and were amazed to find that we were about the only people there. We paid for our tickets, and a “camera fee” to take pictures, which seems to be a favorite add on at the tourist sites right now. The cell phone camera fee was lower and I figured my cell phone is better than my camera at indoor photos anyway, so all these pictures are taken on Mervin and my cell phone cameras.
When we first entered, we paid for the tickets and then ascended to the top of this staircase:
There was lots of art on the walls as we climbed the stairs, including these portraits:
At the top of the stairs, you could look out across the Great Hall:
Beyond the great hall, we entered the courtyard the men of the palace lived around:
On the other side was the women’s courtyard:
There was art and photos on all of the walls:
There was also a large garden in the front:
Mervin
I am really enjoying reading about and seeing pictures of your travels. I believe that I forwarded your link to Nancy. Judy A