The saga of Friday February 7, 2025 until Saturday February 8, 2025 in Jaisalmer, India
Our first morning in Jaisalmer, known as the Gold City because of its yellow sandstone color, Chaim needed to work and Eitan woke up feeling unwell, again. He clearly needed more sleep to recover from the late nights, long days, and travel. While he slept in, Amichai, Matanel, and Shai davened/prayed and did their schoolwork. Afterward, the four of us met up with our driver, Ajay, who drove us to Gadisar Lake where we met our tour guide for the day.
Similar to the manmade lake, Lake Man Sagar, in Jaipur, Lake Gadisar was built in the 13th century to bring provide water to the people in Jaisalmer. For centuries it was used for drinking, washing, and ritual bathing. Today, it is considered a holy lake with ghats/Hindu temples dotting its shoreline and is used only for ritual bathing.
After a short visit to the lake, we drove to Jaisalmer Fort, which is unlike any of the other forts we had been to, thus far. All of the other previous forts and palaces we’d seen were relics of the past. In contrast, Jaisalmer Fort is a living, breathing city bustling with locals and tourists alike. Our tour guide shared that every home is passed down from one generation to the next, meaning that the families who live in Jaisalmer Fort have been there for centuries. No one is allowed to sell or buy the homes in this vibrant city. If a couple is childless, the home would pass onto a sibling or cousin. Walking through its mazelike, cobblestone and dirt roads, I could finally imagine what it would have been like to live inside a fort’s walls: Musicians’ music floats down the different streets, worshipers visit shrines that emerge around every corner, small shop-owners sell their trinkets, good luck charms, idols, clothes, and other wares on the streets directly below their homes.
Inside the fort, we stopped at a Jain temple where we learned about Jainism, a branch of Hinduism that practices veganism and, according to our tour guide, and the people do not eat any foods grown below the ground (e.g. potato, onion, garlic, carrot, etc.). The temple included thousands of stone and wood carvings that were intricate, mesmerizing, and in many ways flawless. Observing the thousands of idols gave me, a monotheistic Jew, pause again. It felt strange to know that in a country with over 300,000 gods (per another tour guide we met later on in our travels), our family intentionally prayed to only one god. I wasn’t sure what to make of that juxtaposition at the time and continue reflecting on the mix of feelings I had even as I write this blog months later.
From the Jain temple we walked through the narrow streets to visit another the famous Patwa Haveli. We were too tired to tour inside and decided to walk back through the streets of the Gold City to meet up with Ajay. Unfortunately, the smells wafting through the streets were overwhelmed by the smell of cow and dog poop everywhere. As we navigated our ways through the narrow roads, the boys and I remarked that the narrow streets, numerous stairs, and motorcycles zooming around us reminded us of Naples.
At some point during our excursion Matanel must have brushed up on some kind of plant because the back of his hand blew up. He complained it was itchy and painful so we put some hydrocortisone – our number one medical treatment so far this year – and hoped it would go away.
We were home by 2:00PM. After a bit of downtime, the boys finished some schoolwork before Shabbat began. There was no Chabad or other synagogue in the city that we knew of, so our Friday night dinner was a bit of a stretch – kiddush on mango juice and motzi on naan. After dinner, we hung out in a common area playing card games and chess.
That night, Amichai, Eitan, and I slept in one room together while Chaim, Matanel, and Shai slept in the other room. Amichai, Eitan, and I had a hilarious time together; it felt like a slumber party filled with tickle massages, funny and good conversations. At one point, Eitan asked me, “Ema/Mom, did you ever dream about getting older when you were a kid?” “All the time,” I replied. Somehow this led to a conversation about having children and a hilarious, and mostly age appropriate sex education discussion ensued. Before turning in, Amichai turned to us and said, “You’re my besties.” After a moment, Eitan replied, “You’re my bestie” and I told them both “I love you.” While it is very possible the boys have already forgotten that moment, it is a memory I will cherish forever.
The next morning, we were all up by 7:00AM, which meant we had a long day ahead of us with no synagogue to attend. Moreover, the area we were staying in wasn’t exactly great for walking around. Matanel was knocking at my door by 8:00AM because his rash was getting worse. Since he looked concerned, we decided it would be best to have him see a doctor. One of the perks of staying at a haveli is their on-call doctor. However, the doctor was a solid 10-minute drive away. Just as we were trying to decide what to do, the front desk attendant suggested an allergy pill. I literally hit my forehead. Duh! Why didn’t I think of that? A few hours after taking a pill, his hand was already feeling and looking better.
After breakfast, we davened/prayed. One of my greatest joys is listening to our boys sing, especially when Eitan sings during davening/prayers because that boy sings his heart out every time and its so darn cute. The boys took hours, but it didn’t really matter because we had nothing else to do. When we finished, we played more card games and chess, and then went for a short walk to get some fresh air.
We discovered a small “playground” across the street from our haveli, which meant a swing and small space to run around. Eitan was all for it. Unfortunately, the smell of poop was so overwhelming I couldn’t do it. We skipped the playground and walked around the Gold City to show Chaim and Eitan the Patwa Haveli that they missed the day before. As we meandered, Amichai embraced his explorer attitude and began showing more comfort walking through streets where a car, cow, or passerby might run into you at full speed.
The dust and dirt blowing around the streets was anything but fresh air. Chaim’s allergies, which were already acting up from the dust in our haveli worsened and I was getting a headache. We returned to the haveli to play more games and await the end of Shabbat.
As we fell asleep that night, a wedding party was in full swing with fireworks blasting overhead and people singing and cheering.
