Manak Chowk, Jaisalmer: Manak Chowk outside the Jaisalmer fort is the centre of local activity and is also a landmark through which one can reach the lanes where the famous carved havelis of Jaisalmer mentioned-above are to be found. Built mainly during the 18th and 19th centuries, Patwon-ki-Haveli is the best with a beautiful latticed façade, Salim Singh-ki-Haveli has an arched roof held up by well-excluded brackets shaped like peacocks while Nathmalji-ki-Haveli, has two wings, quite similar to each other but facing opposite sides guarded by elephants made up of yellow sandstone.
The chowk was once a Sadar Mandi (grain-market), and a beehive of activity. Merchants from far away lands like Persia, Iraq, Egypt and Arabia used to visit the city to trade. Jaisalmer in those days was not dissimilar to the ‘great silk route’ from Europe to China and made the town fairly prosperous. However, with the development of other trading centres in India in the port cities of Bombay, Cochin and Madras, the importance of Jaisalmer as a conduit for trade between India and the rest of Asia declined. This led to a large number of people migrating from the town; the population of Jaisalmer declined from 35000 in 1815 to only about 22,355 according to the 1981 census
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