Nepal: The Palace of Fifty-Five Windows (left), the 17th century Siddhi Lakshmi Temple (background, centre)...

The southeastern part of Bhaktapur's Royal Palace compound is taken up by the Palace of Fifty-Five Windows, which was the actual residence of the Bhaktapur kings. The three-storied building boasts some masterly carved doors and windows on its lower floors, and on the third floor there are 55 arcaded windows. In its original form, the upper floor projected out from the building, but after the 1934 earthquake it was reconstructed in the present style. Inside the compound there is a golden water conduit, laid out in 1688, which brought in water from a source 11 kilometres away. The water was used for the daily ritual bathing of the image of goddess Taleju. Also fed by a subterranean water conduit was the Nag Pokhri, or 'Pond of the Nagas', located at the northeastern corner of the temple complex and constructed during the reign of Jagatprakasha Malla (1743-1772).