Mandu, Madhya Pradesh, 14th-16th Century

The time to visit Mandu, they say, is after the rains, when the Jahaz Mahal seems to float in the waters of the ocean. This is d ue to flooding of the two lakes – the Kapur Talao and the Munja Talao – between which it is built. It is said to have housed Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din Khilji’s harem which included women from such far-flung places as Abyssinia and Turkey.