The Palace of the Winds is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Rajput architecture in India. It is adorned with 953 windows. These were designed to enable the ladies of the royal court to watch street theatre unobserved, hidden behind the delicate latticework. Also known as the Hawa Mahal, the palace was built in 1799 for Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh as part of the women's quarters of the expansive City Palace complex in the heart of Jaipur. The street-facing façade is essentially an enormous screened porch, only one room deep in most places. The palace's distinctive pink colour comes from the natural sandstone it is built from, and this has earned Jaipur the nickname 'The Pink City'.