Not
always open to visitors. Built
between 1727 and l734 theMoon palace
is th eearliest building of the
palace complex. Externally it
appears to have seven storeys,
though inside the first and second
floors are actually one
high-ceilinged hall. On the ground
floor (north) a wide verandah - the
Pritam
Niwas (House oj the beloved) -with
Italian wall paintings, laces the
formal Jai Niwas garden. The main
section of the ground floor is an
Audience Hall. The hall on the first
(and second) floors, the Sukh Niwas
(House of pleasure), under went a
Victorian reconstruction, above
which are the Rang
Mandir and the Sobha Niwas, buit to
the same plan. The two top storeys
are much smaller, with the mirror
palace of the Chavi Niwas succeeded
by the small open marble pavilion
which crowns the structure, the
Mukat Niwas. This gives superb views
of the city and Tiger Fort.
In the northeast corner of the
Pritam Niwas Chowk, leading into the
zenana, is the Krishna door, its
surface embossed with scenes of the
deity's life. The door is sealed in
the treditionaly way with a rope
sealed with wax over the lock.
North of the Chrandra Mahal, the
early 18th-century Govind Deo
Temple, which as probibly built as a
residence, has been restored by an
ancient technique using molasses,
curd, coconut water, fenugreek, rope
fibres and lime. The furniture is
European - Bohemian glass
chandeliers - the
decoration Indian. Following the
steps around the royal crest of
Jaipur. The ceiling of this hall is
in finely worked gold. Further on
are the beutiful Mughal style
fountains and the Jai Niwas gardens
(1727), laid out as a charbagh the
Badal Mahal (circa 1750) and the
Tall Katora tank. The view
extends beyond the compound walls to
the Nahararli ( Tiger Port) on the
hills beyond.
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