The magical and fairy-tale like city of Jaisalmer in the North Indian province of Rajasthan is like something from the One Thousand And One Nights. The construction of the mighty fortress and subsequent creation of the city under Rajputen monarch, Jaisal, took place in 1155.

Today the strongly fortified Jaisalmer Palace is entered by a total of three mighty gates that date back to the sixteenth century. The impressive Jain sanctuaries within the palace were partly built in the fifteenth century before the golden age of the Jaisalmers. Four Jain sanctuaries lead almost directly into each other thus at first sight they look like a single large temple complex.

Beyond the city walls are many interesting sights: on one side the splendid Thar Desert and, on the other, the traces of the region’s former monarchy. Tombs and many magnificent kenotaphs that are decorated mainly with heroic motifs adorn the barren landscape.

Festively adorned camels are a reminder of the colourful era of the caravan trains that once traversed the TharDesert and helped to create the city’s wealth.

Today Jaisalmer continues to be a magical and mystical city and in the centre of the Thar Desert the glittering dream of the One Thousand And One Nights is still very much alive!