Jaisalmer was founded in 1156 by the Rajput ruler Jaisala, who commenced the construction of the Jaisalmer fort on the 80 meter high Trikuta Hill. Much of Jaisalmer is built from lustrous golden sandstone and thus is known as a Golden City. The fort walls contain elaborate houses, shops, restaurants, hotels and a beautiful palace and are home to about 25% of the old city’s population. Jaisalmer has struggled over the centuries with sieges, sackings, water shortages and the advent of a port in Mumbai. The India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971 revived the city with strategic military importance. Today, Jaisalmer’s main industry is tourism – sending almost every foreign visitor bouncing out into some part of the Thar Desert on a prehistoric looking camel.