Step wells

I was just scrolling to the National Geographic magazine of the month and one thing which caught my sight was the step well. I had seen many step wells as kid but it was barely made of upto ten steps but the well in the picture below just amazed me



Till now I had thought the purpose of the steps built were just for well to look beautiful but was taken aback reading about step wells. Firstly, the steps built are a way to conserve rain water, water from rain float along the steps and accumulate in the wells which is at center of these steps. It was also built as a place for leisure, the water in the well made the place around bit cooler so people used to spend time enjoying cool air. This amazing architecture dates back more than 800 years old, they stand now as a sign of brilliant ancient architecture. The picture above is the deepest step well in the world. This step well is located in Rajasthan ,India and is reported to have around 3500 steps! Imagine the plight of the people who would fetch water from these wells, no wonder our ancestor were strong, healthy, fit add all adjectives you want, I guess rarely they would have allocated time in a day for exercise separately since their daily chores where enough to keep them fit for life time. I just can't wait to see this amazing architecture.