Bangalore seems to be more interested in the future than the past. However, they do keep a few relics from ancient times to satisfy tourists. One is the Tipu Sultan Palace.
The Tipu Sultan is honored for resisting the East India Company whose main purpose seems to have been to steal anything they could in India. The Tipu Sultan resisted but was killed by an army including Arthur Wellesley, later made the Duke of Wellington after defeating Napoleon at Waterloo. In any case, the Tipu Sultan had a summer palace in Bangalore and we visited it on the first day of our trip this February.
From outside, the palace doesn’t look like much, but it has a very nice palm tree. We at first thought the Tipu Sultan drove a small Toyota, but learned that was a later addition.
Inside, however, the palace is small but beautiful. The palace is largely made of teak with Islamic arches. At a good angle, the light reflected from the arches is stunning. The center photo of the triptych below shows the balcony where the Tipu Sultan held court.
The final photo again shows the light on the arches with tourists — almost entirely local — enjoying the beautiful architecture. One thing we like about this photo is the combination of a young woman in traditional dress with another in western style jeans engaging in a traditional tourist pastime.
iball round the world 