The Great Thar Desert: Dawn

The only clouds Jaisalmer had seen for a month hid the stars that night, and they muddled the dawn, but the dawn was beautiful nonetheless, bleeding in from behind the gray. The sand was combed by the wind and it picked up the uneven glow of the sky. I took a few pictures.

Photos from Jaisalmer

Gateway to Jaisalmer Fort

Once again, here's a flashback to India - this is from late February...

Our last stop in Rajasthan was Jaisalmer, a desert outpost not far from the border with Pakistan (in an area bustling with military activity, especially given the heightened tensions around the time of our visit). Jaisalmer grew wealthy as a stopover for camel caravans en route between India and Persia, protected by a storybook castle rising out of the sands, inside of which narrow lanes are now filled with shops catering to the new nomads: travelers dropping in before heading further out into the desert on multi-day camel safaris (I'll describe our own trek in a separate post). Today the fort is crumbling and in need of funds for preservation and repair.

Jaisalmer Fort

Internet and vegetable vendors, Jaisalmer town - photo by Rachel.

Lane inside Jaisalmer Fort - photo by Rachel.

Tombs of the Maharajas, near Jaisalamer, sunrise.

Jaisalmer town, viewed from the fort.

More Jaisalmer photos here.

Today is our last day in China - we're heading out in a little while to see some of the Olympic architecture, adding a historical bookend to our visits to the Forbidden City and Great Wall. Tomorrow we fly to Tokyo to begin the last two weeks of our trip. I'll try to get as many photos online as possible during the next few days.