An incredible geometric interweaving is created by over 3,500 steps. Where is it and who built the most hypnotic well in the world?
The most HYPNOTIC WELL in the world
It looks like a labyrinth designed by Escher, an optical illusion that has ceased to be intangible to become reality. We are talking about a step well that hypnotizes the whole world: the Chand Baori.
# Why do step wells exist?
To reach this hypnotic place you need to be ready to cross nations and continents, reaching as far as India. But let’s proceed step by step, to talk about Chand Baori it is first necessary to explain what baori are. In Indian the term baori is used to indicate wells in general, which were built with stairways so as to be able to reach the water level, regardless of which it was: in periods of drought it was necessary to go down to the bottom, while in times of rain it was enough to take a few steps.
# The Chand Baori mesmerizes with its 13 floors of geometric steps
In short, there are many step wells in both India and Pakistan. But the deepest and, above all, the most amazing from an architectural point of view is the Chand Baori, in the village of Abhaneri. Its construction began for some in the seventh century, for others in the ninth, but it was certainly at the behest of King Chand. The reason was very concrete: to solve the problem of water supply in periods of drought. It was designed precisely to collect large quantities of water, in fact it goes over 100 meters below ground level and to reach the bottom you have to walk 13 floors consisting of 3,500 narrow steps, positioned in such a way as to recreate a hypnotic geometric effect.
# Too perfect for being man made: was it built by spirits?
But the well of Chand Baori is not only surprising for the intertwining of its steps, it also houses a museum with ancient sculptures and right in front is the temple of Harshat Mata, Goddess of Joy and Happiness. Before going to the temple, the faithful were required to purify themselves with water, and to do this the well was essential. If this already seems too much for a single place, you should know that a legend hovers around the construction of the Chand Baori complex: according to the locals, the well would be too elaborate and perfect to be a human work… instead it would have been built by spirits, in one night only.
It is not possible to discover what the truth is: is it an example of how extraordinary human ingenuity can be or is it proof of a paranormal intervention? Surely it is another piece that adds to the puzzle of world constructions as inexplicable as wonderful.
ROSITA GIULIANO
