Amer is a city in India. Fairytale palace of Amber. Amber Fort left an ambivalent impression in my memory. On the one hand, this is a powerful fortification with outbuildings: with stables, elephants, large cauldrons, where they cooked food for the servants in the yard and lived oh
Amber (or Amer in some sources) - the fortified residence of Raja Man Singh in the suburb of Jaipur of the same name, on the ridge of a rocky hill behind Lake Maota. Despite the formidable appearance, the interior chambers of the fortress amaze with the sophistication of the lush decoration, made simultaneously in Indian and Muslim styles. Amber Fort is deservedly the main attraction of the Indian state of Rajasthan...
You can climb to the fort on elephants, either on foot or by car. Moreover, all three ascent options are 3 different roads, so if you are an athlete who does not like animals, then don’t worry - you won’t have to dodge cars or step over elephant waste products...
View of the elephant's dashboard, elephant's mahout's turban... 
Motorists can ascend to the fortress from reverse side and enter through the entrance previously used for women to enter ( warriors and aunts could not use the same gates). Pedestrians will climb the stairs leading from the Amber Gardens located near Lake Maota ( in winter it dries out a little more than completely). The elephant drivers use the main, once front, road to the palace, so I recommend taking a ride on an elephant... 
Man Singh, who began the construction of a fortress-palace here in 1592, was one of the first military leaders of Emperor Akbar the Great, the ruler of the Great Mughals, whose mausoleum I talked about last time. For many years, the administration of the Jundhara principality was carried out from here, and only in the early 1700s the capital of the principality was moved to the newly founded Jaipur, just 11 km from here... 
Initially, the fort now known as Amber Fort was just a palace complex, an appendage of the military fortress now known as Jaigarh Fort. Jaigarh and Amber were ( yes to this day) are connected by protected transition walls and underground tunnels... 
Between Amber and Jaigarh lies a whole block of ancient houses and buildings, only a small part of which is inhabited. The rest are picturesque ruins scattered on the slopes of the hill... 
If you come to Jaipur for more than one day, then you can safely devote a couple of days to a pedestrian exploration of the old walls and towers of the neighboring rocky ridges. The views that you will see from there will be 100% unique, which will not be available to any “organized” tourist. By the way, about the name of the fort, and indeed the city in general - there are at least 2 versions of the origin of the name, which the guides will stuff you with: (1) They will show you in the direction of the town, that somewhere there ( the guide's finger makes a circle covering an area twice as large as the several thousand people of Amber) there was a great temple in which there was a statue ( I don't remember who, sorry) from a single piece of amber ( Amber in English is amber, just in case anyone doesn’t know); (2) You will come across a very stupid guide who will say that amber is yellow and the palace is made of yellow sandstone, which is why the type was named amber. You can only believe in these versions if you believe in Santa Claus... 
Main entrance to Amber ( in the photo the gate is on the right) - Surajpol takes you to the palace square of Jaleb Chowk. In ancient times, the square was the site of a parade of troops returning victoriously from campaigns and battles. If you nevertheless arrive on an elephant, the driver will lead the elephant almost along the perimeter of the square and, before parking at a special ramp, will definitely tell a heart-warming story about what the animal needs to eat. At the same time, the elephant begins to sniffle and stagger ( because the bastard driver imperceptibly stabs him with a lance), the pale-skinned tourist becomes even pale-skinned, gives the driver a tip and, as if by magic, the elephant calms down and parks at the ramp... But this is not necessary, you don’t have to give anything and let your conscience bite you that the elephant will go to bed hungry... 
In theory there should be beautiful lake, washing no less beautiful garden on an artificial island. However, it is now January and everything is dry. And it looks something like this ( photo not mine, opens in a new window) ...
All the ridges of the hills as far as the eye can see are covered with battlements of fortifications and towers... 
One of the inner chambers of the palace is called the "Room of a Thousand Mirrors". Its walls and ceiling are lined with mosaics of mirrors. Just one candle was enough to brightly illuminate the entire hall... Also on the photo card you can notice that a white woman with a slightly open back is almost porn for local youth ( and not only young people), they will quietly take pictures on their mobile phones and follow on their heels... 
All military power and defensive potential were held, as you already understood, not by Amber Fort, but by Jaigarh. In addition, the treasury of the principality was kept here. I will tell you a little about Jaigarh, I will show you in one of the following stories... 
Harem courtyard. Of course, before it was not so dull and scorched by the sun. There were a lot of fabrics used as awnings and walls. Children were playing on the veranda in the middle. The balcony in front on the left is the Shah's room. Small balconies around the perimeter are his wives' apartments. A network of complex passages, corridors and doors along the perimeter of the courtyard allowed the Shah to get to one of his wives without anyone else finding out about it and without them being offended... 
To view the fortress from space, click
Amber is famous for its fort, which is immediately associated with 2 misunderstandings.
Amber - city, and not a fort, although Amber Fort is often written, but the fort has its own name - Jaigarh, i.e. glory.
Amber's Fort in English it means both the Amber Fort and the Amber Fort, the second name is not correct, since it came several centuries after the founding of the city and its name has nothing to do with amber.
Amber was the capital of the Rajput Kachhwaha clan from 1037 to 1728, after which it moved to neighboring Jaipur when Jai Singh founded a new city there.
Although the buildings of Amber are less impressive than those of Jaipur, the city is unforgettable - it is located on narrow rocky ridges among the hills, and its high walls seem to continue the natural surroundings.
Amber Palace
Entrance ticket to the palace: 200 rupees, there is also a ticket for 300 rupees for 2 days, which includes 4 more Jaipurs. Palace opening hours: daily from 8 am to 6 pm.
Entrance to the palace complex through Suraj Pol (Sun Gate) on main square Jaleb Chowk. In the courtyard on the left, Sri Sila Devi (a form of Kali), a statue of the goddess is located in an unusual arch of stylized carved banana leaves. There is a staircase nearby, steep steps lead to Lion Gate(Singh Paul), where the entrance to the palace is located.
The architectural style of the palace is traditionally Rajput, although Mughal influence in the design is very noticeable. Passing through the first of three courtyards you will see on the opposite side the Diwan-i-Am (public audience hall), built in 1639, an open pavilion similar to the Mughal-era halls in Delhi and Agra.
Exquisitely decorated with mosaic panels Gate of Ganesh (Ganesh Pol) lead to the second courtyard, on the left Sheesh Mahal, created by Raja Jai Singh, it has mosaic panels inlaid with glass and mirrors and marble. There are also doors made of sandalwood (!) wood, inlaid with ivory.
Man Singh Palace- the old part of the palace, with an interlacing of narrow stairs and passages, interesting place for studying.
Amber Fort - Jaigarh
Opening hours: daily from 9 to 5 pm, entrance is 75 rupees, 50 is charged for, by and large there is nothing to shoot there, 100 rupees.
Rising above Amber, Jaigarh Fort, built in 1600 or even in the 11th century (according to various estimates), offers breathtaking panoramas of the neighboring hills and plains.
The fort contains two ancient temples- Ram Harihar (10th century) and Kala Bhairava (12th century).
Small museum filled with old maps and photographs, as well as cannons - dating back to 1588 - Jaigarh was an important center for weapons production. At the top of the fort there is a huge Jaivana cannon, the largest in Asia, which requires 100 kilograms of gunpowder for 1 shot, the cannonball flies 35 km, but no one has ever fired from it.
You can get to Jaigarh Fort by jeep (they asked for 750 rupees), on an elephant - like the Rajput rulers (strongly not recommended, they suffer greatly from such walks) or you will have to walk for about 30 minutes along a steep road, which is what we did.
How to get to Amber
Regular ones to Amber leave from Jaipur from the Hawa Mahal Palace, go frequently, travel time is about 20 minutes, the price was 7 rupees in the fall of 2010.
Guidebooks advise coming to Amber in the morning so as not to encounter tourist groups, and I support this recommendation; on excursions to Amber they bring large groups of tourists who shout, flicker, take pictures in front of the sights and greatly interfere with seeing what you want.
Jaipur is the city we liked most in India. In Jaipur, our driver buckled up and started paying attention to the traffic lights again. In Jaipur we first saw people sweeping the streets, for this reason it is much cleaner than Delhi or Agra. An elevated metro is being built in Jaipur. The Silk Road passed through Jaipur and its rulers quickly figured out how to make money from it. They built huge blocks of buildings with two-story shops on top of which were living rooms and rented them out to merchants for free. It is not surprising that the city quickly became shopping mall. Even now, the volume of those buildings is impressive. You can imagine how busy trade was here before. But the main attraction of Jaipur is still different.
Amber Fort
The main attraction of Jaipur on our list, Amber Fort is located 11 km north of Jaipur and is a beautiful complex of palaces, halls, pavilions, gardens and temples, built over two centuries.
Amber Fort is located on the slope of a mountain and to get to it you need to travel a long way from Lake Moata, located at the foot. Usually tourists are lifted on elephants, but this time there was some kind of holiday, so a countless number of people came local population and there weren’t enough elephants for everyone.
After jostling in the queue, the guide made a wise decision to replace the elephants with jeeps and go up using gasoline traction.
Having fought off the annoying sellers, we hit the road.
Double headdress
At the same time, the tired elephants began to leave with us. It turns out that the poor animals used to work all day, lifting tourists up the mountain. It is clear that in this mode they worked for wear and tear. And after some time, an accident occurred when a tired elephant killed a tourist from Japan who approached him to take a photo. After this incident, the elephants were moved to half-time work. To be honest, even after half a day the elephants look far from cheerful.
Are they lined up by height or is it just me?
Unlike a jeep.
The lens sticking out of the jeep seems to remind us that there are still several gigabytes of unprocessed video on the disk.
The path to the fort lies along narrow streets along which hardworking Indian women hurry. By the way, the color of the sari differs in different parts of India. Here everyone wore mostly yellow. And not always with a bag on my head, there were also without bags.
Here, for example, without a bag
The fort is actually almost a palace. There was a lot going on there, except for the local rulers entertaining themselves in the absence of TV and the Internet. There are also rooms with heated floors. It would be more accurate to say a room inside a heated room for cold periods.
One of the courtyards
Rare group shot
Rooms for wives who watched their husbands' entertainment:
Those who, due to their status, should not have been seen by mere mortals had to be content with spying through such windows
According to the guide, this fort did not participate in military battles; the stone wall covering the nearby mountains primarily protected the predators that once lived in the jungle from the inhabitants of Jaipur. Now there is no jungle or living creatures on the mountain slopes. It is safe to say that the wall failed in its great mission.
Walking through the buildings of the fort, we noticed the low ceilings. For example, to go down to the basement where the water storage was located, you had to bend over twice!
Apparently Indians in those days were short. And they didn’t care about safety precautions. All the balconies had railings that barely reached the knees, and some stairs had no railings at all.
I will not retell everything stated by the guide, I will only note the following interesting fact. After India gained independence, numerous Indian kings and Shahs lost their wealth. Most of their properties became state property, and the royal families were left with relatively modest houses. Some people opened hotels there to make a living; others rent out ancient buildings for parties, weddings and banquets. For example, we were offered dinner with the real royal family for only $200 per person. But for some reason we were not tempted...
And so that you don’t get the wrong impression about the difficult life of Indians, here are a couple more photographs. For example, this lady earns her living...
... not at all like sweeping the floor. 20-30 rupees per photo and the model is ready to pose for you as much as you like in any shot. Fixed at 35 mm. By the way, for those interested:
I didn't whiten my teeth.
In Jaipur we finished our journey through the Golden Triangle. To save time and not bother ourselves with a long journey by car, we flew to Goa on a direct flight from Jaipur. We flew with SpiceJet, but we were a little worried, since the Internet is full of various rumors about their carelessness. Like if there aren’t enough passengers, the flight can easily be cancelled. But since there were already 8 of us, we decided that the risk of cancellation due to no-show of passengers was minimal. For those who will buy tickets on their own, I would like to note that we were unable to buy tickets on the airline’s website, no matter how hard we tried. The card simply didn’t go through, that’s all. Therefore, we took tickets from one of the aggregators. Unfortunately, the aggregator did not allow us to immediately buy food on board, so we had to fight with the flight attendants during the flight.
The flight to Goa is not direct, but with an intermediate landing in Ahmedabad. It doesn't take much time, and you don't have to get off the plane; transit passengers remain in their seats.
This is where I’ll probably finish the educational part completely and move on to life in Goa. I’ve already touched on it partially, now let’s relax completely….
I almost forgot - the last photo of our guide, the coordinates were in . The best recommendations from us.
Today we'll talk about Fort Amber.Amber Fort located 11 kilometers from Jaipur. The fort-palace, a classic example of a romantic Rajasthani fort, stands on a plateau at the southwestern foot of the mountain. At the top is the Jaigarh fortress (Victory Fortress), guarding the approaches to both Amber and Jaipur, located on the other side of the mountain.
Amber is surrounded on all sides by hills, along the ridges and peaks of which a fortress wall with ramparts and watchtowers winds like an endless snake for many kilometers.
History and architecture of Amber Fort
Construction of the fort began in 1592 by Raja Man Singh I, the commander of the Rajput units in the army of Emperor Akbar. The construction of the grandiose structure was completed by Man Singh's descendant, Jai Singh I. The fort was named after the goddess Amba, better known in Indian mythology as Durga, and was built according to all the canons of the Rajput architectural style, which developed in the state of Rajasthan in the Middle Ages.
Only local material was used for the construction, which made it possible to achieve an unusual effect - natural and man-made are almost impossible to distinguish from afar. With military attacks that often happened in those days, this had a special defensive significance. The Rajput architectural style is characterized by impeccable proportional lines and strict, clear external forms.
However, the massive fortress walls hid the rich interior decoration, exquisite workmanship and decorations that were inaccessible to the casual eye. Inside the fort, the buildings are complemented by many balconies covered with stone grilles, thin columns connected by scalloped arches, small gazebos at the corners of the roofs and awnings, as well as barred arched windows made into the walls to enhance ventilation. In the palace, the dream of paradise, giving delight to the soul and peace to the heart, found its true embodiment.
Rajput forts were built according to a fairly rigid pattern. Central part occupied by a multi-tiered residential building - prasada, next to it - one- or two-story pavilions, isolated or representing wings of prasada.
Territory palace complex was divided into three parts: the first - a service yard with stalls, warehouses, weapons storage facilities, palace square and a pavilion for official audiences. The second is one or two courtyards with personal apartments, rooms for the treasury and a small home chapel. The third part housed the zanana (women's apartments) with terraces and gardens for walking.
Attractions of Amber Fort
The path to Amber begins on the shores of the artificial Lake Maota with a small island in the center - the Dalarama Garden (named after the architect of Jaipur). A wide road leads to the palace, along which elephants still move at a leisurely pace, delivering visitors to the first entrance gate - Jai Pol. There is also a staircase with unusually large steps, intended more for riders on horses than for pedestrians.
The huge courtyard is followed by Suraj Pol (Gate of the Sun), revealing Jaleb Chowk, a service courtyard with barracks and stables. After the Sun Gate comes Chandra Pol (Moon Gate), which leads to a temple dedicated to Narasingha (the lion man, one of the incarnations of the god Vishnu), as well as to the Jagat Shiromani (Treasure of the World) temple, a temple with a huge prayer hall.
After passing Singh Pol (Lion's Gate), visitors emerge to the pavilion for official audiences (diwan-i-am). Its vaulted roof rests on 40 columns, the central ones made of white marble and the side ones made of red sandstone.
It is noteworthy that the capitals of the columns are made in the shape of elephant heads; their raised trunks serve as a natural support for the roof vault. The sofa-i-am ends with a terrace framed by a decorative lattice, from which a grandiose panorama of the surrounding landscape opens.
The path to the personal apartments of the palace passes through the amazingly beautifully decorated gate - Ganesha Pol. Their façade is richly decorated with arches decorated with jalis (carved stone grilles) and a bangal-dar type roof (such a roof has low domed ends with eaves far forward, which makes it look like a hat).
On the top floor of the gate is the Sohag Mandir - its specially designed windows allowed the women of the court to observe public audiences without being noticed. On the same floor is the Bhojan Shala (meal room) with paintings depicting scenes from Hindu mythology and images of the holy cities of India.
Behind the gate of Ganesh Paul begins a courtyard with a cozy small garden and the personal chambers of the rulers. WITH right side the graceful Sukh Nivas (Place of Joy) can be seen, whose carved wooden doors are inlaid with ivory and sandalwood.
The room is cooled by water flowing through a channel built directly into the floor, which ends in a small waterfall flowing into the char bagh (traditional Islamic indoor garden). The floor of the canal is paved with alternating strips of white and black marble. Resembling a zigzag wave, this pattern further enhances the effect of flowing water.
The Jai Niwas Palace is made of the purest white marble and with its elegant outlines is reminiscent of the famous pavilions of the Mughal emperors of the fort in Agra. Jai Niwas houses the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) and the Yash Mandir (Chamber of Glory), as well as the Diwan-e-Khas, the walls of which are almost completely covered with various designs.
At the same time, the lower panels of the walls are decorated with floral relief patterns. The edges of the panels are framed with a border lined with semi-precious stones. The upper sections of the walls are either painted (which is typical of the Hindu tradition) or inlaid with colored mosaics, pieces of glass or semi-precious stones (this is an Islamic cultural influence).
Sheesh Mahal, as well as the Yash Mandir located above, make the most impressive impression. Their walls and vaulted ceilings are covered with inlay using small mirrors, glass and gilded tiles, and the pattern is laid out in such a way that the light from even a single lit match creates a stunning effect of a starry sky.
Mirror mosaic was one of the techniques for decorating walls, columns and ceilings in Rajput palaces. The Rajput style (from “raj” - “prince”, “put” - “son”) was formed in Rajasthan during the reign of the Rajputs - princely families. The windows are covered with carved marble grilles (jali), which enhance ventilation in the rooms, and also create a pleasant twilight and protect the rooms from direct rays of the sun.
At the very top of Jai Niwas is the Nat Mahal terrace. With the onset of winter, darbars - court meetings - were held on it. Located near Jai Niwas, the zanana is a real labyrinth of bedrooms, storage rooms, office premises, bathrooms, kitchens and covered terraces. When you enter this part of the palace, you invisibly feel the former presence of maharani (queens) and kumari (princesses). They led a solitary life, revealing themselves only by the gentle ringing of anklets heard in the depths of the zanana.
Opening hours: 8:00 – 17:30
Entrance: 500 rupees.
How to get there: from Chandpole station by taxi or auto-rickshaw. You get out of the subway and say “Hawa mahal.” And for a hundred rupees they take you to the Palace of the Winds. By the way, two metro stations are currently under construction, and soon the exit will be right at Hawa Mahal. Once you get to the Palace of the Winds, you need to go up to it and catch bus 29, which you can stop right at the Palace and go north (direction from the square with the metro under construction outside the city). You will see a pond and the walls of Amber Fort, get out. Locals are also actively suggesting that it’s time.
Amber Fort is built in the style of romantic Rajasthani architecture and is located 11 km from Jaipur. The fort is surrounded on all sides by hills, along the tops of which there is a fortress wall with watchtowers.
Tip from the tourist: At the box office you can buy a complex ticket for 1000 rupees for several attractions, which is valid for 2 or 3 days, with it you can definitely get into the Hawa Mahal Palace, the Albert Hall Cultural and Historical Museum, ancient observatory Jantar Mantar and two other palace complexes.
One of the biggest impressions is made by the wall surrounding the Ford. Its length is about 20 km, and it is akin to the Great Chinese wall, there is room for the eye to expand.
The Ford itself is shabby, unkempt, unattractive, I would say, because... the government is not engaged in its restoration. Therefore, to get more pleasure, you need to step back from the current state of the fort, and looking at the openwork patterns of the buildings, imagine what it looked like before.
The mirrored walls will be especially memorable. IN hall of mirrors On one of the marble columns there is a magical flower carved in which about 20 animals are hidden.
If you don't make it to the Elefantastic Nature Reserve, here you can catch up and ride an elephant to the top of the fort. Such a walk costs 1000-1300 rupees. During the trip, locals will actively photograph you and then try to sell the album for money. The price starts from 1000 rupees, at the end of the bargaining near the bus you can negotiate for 200 rupees - it all depends on your talent as a negotiator.
The fort is located on the slope of a hill, and its walls are reflected in the waters of the lake. This place is historical, so in order for the trip to be worthwhile, you need to either take a guide or prepare in advance.
The territory of the fort is divided into three main parts: the first is the service courtyard, the second part is courtyards with personal apartments, the treasury and chapels, the third part is women's apartments with small terraces.
The interior decoration of the fort is exquisite and rich in terms of architecture. Balconies, stone lattices, columns, arches, gazebos.
Inside the fort, in the first courtyard, there are many souvenir shops. A little further is the Shila Devi temple, dedicated to the warlike goddess Kali. Wild monkeys can often be seen on the huge open terraces. If you move deeper into the temple, you find yourself in the Hall of Pleasure, not far from which there is a canal that was previously used as a water storage facility. From the Jai Mandir temple next to the Maharaja's chambers wonderful view for the entire complex and the lake below.
Here you will get acquainted with the local color and see Indian women in traditional dresses. The palace in its architecture resembles a labyrinth, from room to room, along a long corridor to the hammam, from the hammam to the sofa, from the sofa to the harem and again room-room-room.
Plan 2 hours to visit this place. It's better to come early in the morning, before it's too hot and there are no tourists. Don't forget to take water with you and wear comfortable shoes, because... You'll have to climb a lot and then descend, and it's very stuffy and hot outside.
Tourist tip: At Amber Fort you can visit the light and sound show, which is held every day in the evening. A ticket to the show in English costs 200 rupees, in Hindi - 100. You will hear a story about the history of the fort and significant events in the life of the state, accompanied by the multi-colored illumination of the fort. The show lasts about 1 hour. In addition, after 6 pm you can walk around the fort at night. Price of this entertainment- 100 rupees, while in the daytime - 500.
If you have time and energy left at the end of the journey, visit art gallery, very interesting pictures.
The only thing that can spoil the impression a little is the intrusive sellers of unnecessary junk. But it’s better to get used to it - this is India.
Tip from a tourist: If you are traveling alone, do not take annoying guides at the entrance. There are many policemen on the palace grounds who will be happy to give you directions, and if you give one of them 100 rupees, they will show you even closed places.
Another fort, Jaigarh, is located above the Amber fort.
Jaigarh Fort.
Opening hours: 9:00 – 16:30.
Entrance: 200 rupees.
It was built by Jai Singh in 1726. Well preserved observation towers of this fort, and it is here that the world's largest wheeled cannon is located.
There is a park in the palace, where a film with James Bond was filmed. The monkeys here are not scared, but be careful with them and stay away just in case - there are quite large specimens.
Tourist tip: The fortress is located above the Amber fortress. They are often confused. You can go up through the underground-ground passage directly from Amber, or you can drive straight from the city along the beautiful mountain road. The fort itself is dirty and uninteresting, but the views of the mountains and the open space are probably the most impressive in Rajasthan.
If you have free time after this fort, you can go on foot or by tuk-tuk to Nahargarh Fort. If you go on foot, the walk is about 4 km,
Inside the Ambar complex is the Jal Mahal, a palace surrounded by thousands of churches.
Jal Mahal
Here, the ceilings and walls in all the rooms of this small room are decorated with small mirrors. They say that thanks to this it becomes light even from one candle. And on one of the columns of the palace there is a “Magic Flower” carved from marble. This is a special attraction. There are a lot of animals hidden in this flower: fish tail, lotus, cobra hood, elephant, scorpion and others, each of which is visible in a special way, partially hiding individual elements with hands.
Like a mirage in the sultry desert, the Jal Mahal Palace appears before your eyes, standing on the surface of the water. How and why he ended up in the middle of the lake, where the road leading to him is - many questions arise, and, it turns out, there is a completely reasonable answer to each of them.
The Jal Mahal Palace in India was originally built on land as architectural complex, intended for summer holiday rulers of India. The palace is located among low green mountains, in a beautiful valley that amazes everyone with its picturesqueness. But when a terrible drought began in India, threatening people with starvation, the ruler decided to install a dam, thus blocking the valley where Jal Mahal was located. Over time, the resulting basin was filled with water, which people began to use to irrigate fields. The famine subsided, the residents were saved, and the first floors of the building were forever plunged into water surface. That’s why there is no gap between the palace and the surface of the water, and that’s why there are no roads leading to the palace.
The palace building is a typical building for hot countries - four walls limit the space of the courtyard, and in the corners there are dome turrets. Unfortunately, you can only admire all this beauty from a distance - the palace is closed to visitors. But an outside glance is enough to appreciate the unusualness and originality of this place.
The decoration of the building is inlaid with local semi-precious stones and mirrors from Belgium. The lower part of the mirrors was replaced with new ones (unfortunately, the original ones were destroyed by people, not by time), but general impression it doesn't spoil it. And even more so, how nice it is to look at old pieces of mirrors with the patina of time, comparing them with their ideal new “brothers”. It’s a pity that you can’t get inside, but you can spend a lot of time outside admiring this beauty.
