The very idea of this city conjures in the mind images of magnificent forts and palaces, surging lanes, colourful bazaars and of course the desert something which, this medieval princely city retains even today. Once an area of vast wilderness (Jungledesh), the city of Bikaner was established in 1488 by the Rathore Prince Rao Bikaji when an insensitive remark from his father following his whispering in the court drove him to set up his own kingdom towards the north of Jodhpur.
Standing on a slightly raised ground and circumscribed by a seven km long embattled wall with five gates, the city was also an important trade center during the medieval times, situated as it was on the ancient caravan routes that came from West Asia.
The very idea of this city conjures in the mind images of magnificent forts and palaces, surging lanes, colourful bazaars and of course the desert something which, this medieval princely city retains even today. Once an area of vast wilderness (Jungledesh), the city of Bikaner was established in 1488 by the Rathore Prince Rao Bikaji when an insensitive remark from his father following his whispering in the court drove him to set up his own kingdom towards the north of Jodhpur.
Standing on a slightly raised ground and circumscribed by a seven km long embattled wall with five gates, the city was also an important trade center during the medieval times, situated as it was on the ancient caravan routes that came from West Asia.