Travels, Life In Albany, 2012

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Click on any of the little pictures to see it at normal size. Click on the '=0=' after the picture to see it in giant size (about 2 minutes to download on dialup connection and larger than screen size). This could be useful if you wanted to really look at one part of the picture or to make a print.

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We, of course, wanted to go to the top of the minaret (all 243 steps), but access to it has been denied since a teenager commit suicide by jumping from the top in 1991. What to do? As we approach the inner defenses of the hilltop, there is another gate, this one slightly uphill so that an elephant would be able to maintain the speed necessary to break down the gate.	=0=
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Above is an area where they would heat boiling oil or boiling water to thrown on invaders from the walls above them. Here is a really large cannon besides its mount. The mount would allow the cannon to be turned 160 degrees allowing to shoot at invaders, but it could not be turned on innner defenses of the fort. Below you can see the start of the innermost defenses. When prepared to resist invasion, the only access to the hilltop bastion was via these stairs over the moat (which completely surrounded the hilltop. Of course you can also see the bridge which has been added for the convenience of tourists who don't to enter the tunnel at the end of he stairs.	=0=
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The tunnel was carved from solid stone and was a maze of sorts. It was 170m meters long and there were numerous traps such as tunnels that lead to a fall down into the moat outside. There would also be places where defenders could attack the invaders from above with long spears and such. Of course I also wonder how the garrison accessed the hilltop when there weren't concerns about defending the fort. No one would want to go through such a tunnel every time they needed to bring in food and water, so there must have an easier way to skip the tunnel. Below is Lamala and an area where defenders could attach the invaders from above. Our guide took us through a particularly dark section of tunnels and we all shut off our flashlights to see that it was totally dark. Most of the other sections had been lit and opened up somewhat to make it easier for us to get through. There was also a large open area we needed to cross where were loads of bats. Needless to say it was too dark for pictures and our lights upset the bats, so we certainly didn't linger.	=0=
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This page was last updated on March 28, 2012.