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The move
Udai Singh II began the City Palace in 1553 as he left Chittor
Construction began in 1553, started by Maharana Udai Singh II of the Sisodia Rajput family as he shifted his capital from Chittor to the new city of Udaipur. The palace sits on the east bank of Lake Pichola.
The hermit
A hermit advised where the first courtyard should be built
Udai Singh II chose a site protected by forests, lakes and the Aravalli hills. He had picked it on the advice of a hermit he met on a hunting expedition, before Akbar sacked Chittor. The first structure was the Rai Angan.
400 years
It was built over nearly 400 years by 22 generations
The complex was built over nearly 400 years, with contributions from several rulers of the Mewar dynasty. Twenty-two generations of Sisodia Rajputs added to it, and it includes 11 small separate palaces.
400years of building by the rulers of Mewar
The gates
Zigzag corridors were planned to avoid surprise attacks
The palaces are linked through chowks, or quadrangles, with zigzag corridors, planned to avoid surprise attacks by enemies. The Badi Pol, built in 1600, leads to the Tripolia Pol, a triple-arched gate built in 1725.
Elephants
Elephant fights were once staged in the Manak Chowk
Beyond the Tripolia gate lies the Manak Chowk, where elephant fights were staged to test their prowess before war campaigns. It is said that the Maharanas were weighed under the marble arches with gold and silver.
Day 6, morning
Next is Jagdish Temple.
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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article City Palace, Udaipur, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.