Sights in Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
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Dada Hari Wav
Dada Hari Wav, built in 1499 by a woman of Sultan Begara’s harem, has steps to lower platforms, terminating at a small, octagonal well. The depths are cool, even on the hottest day. Neglected and often bone dry, it’s a fascinating and eerie place. The best time to visit and photograph the well is between 10am and 11am (earlier in the summer, later in the winter); at other times the sun doesn’t penetrate to the various levels. Bus 34 and 111 (Rs. 5) to Asarwa stops nearby.
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Sarkhej Rosa
Located 8km south-west of the city, Sarkhej Rosa is a collection of intriguing Islamic buildings. They cluster around a great tank, constructed by Sultan Mahmud Shah I (1458–1511).
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Sabarmati Ashram
About 5km from the centre, peacefully set on the river Sabarmati's west bank, this ashram was Gandhi’s headquarters during the long struggle for Indian independence. He founded the ashram in 1915 and it moved to its current site a few years later. It was from here on 12 March 1930 that Gandhi set out on his famous Salt March to the Gulf of Cambay in a symbolic protest. Handicrafts, handmade paper and spinning wheels are still produced on the site. There’s a paper factory over the road that’s worth a look (ask at the ashram for permission). Gandhi’s poignant, spartan living quarters are preserved and there’s a pictorial record of his life. The library contains the lett…
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NC Mehta Gallery
In the same building as the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum is the NC Mehta Gallery with an important collection of jewel-like illustrated manuscripts and miniature paintings. Best known is Chaurapanchasika (Fifty Love Lyrics of a Thief), written by Vilhana, an 11th-century Kashmiri poet sentenced to be hanged for loving the king’s daughter. Just before his execution he composed the poems and so impressed the king that there was a lucky turn-around for Vilhana and the king gave his daughter to him in marriage.
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Bhadra Fort & Teen Darwaja
Bhadra Fort built by the city’s founder, Ahmed Shah, in 1411, now houses government offices and a Kali temple. Ask for access to the roof, where you can check out the formidable structure, a perfunctory gallows and views of the surrounding streets. Two of the fort bastions partly collapsed in the 2001 earthquake. To the east is the Teen Darwaja (Triple Gateway), once the gateway into the Royal Square, or Maidan Shahi, where royal processions and polo games took place.
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Jama Masjid
The Jama Masjid, built by Ahmed Shah in 1423, is to the east of the Teen Darwaja. Demolished Hindu and Jain temples provided the building materials. The 260 columns support 15 domes at different elevations. There were once two 'shaking' minarets, but they lost half their height in the great earthquake of 1819 and collapsed after another tremor in 1957. The 2001 earthquake then took its toll, leaving cracks in the masonry and destroying several jalis (carved marble lattice screens).
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City Museum
The City Museum, housed in a Le Corbusier building and reminiscent of a high school under demolition, covers Ahmedabad’s history. It has sections that focus on the city’s religious communities, Gandhi and the Independence struggle. On the ground floor you will find the Kite Museum with a selection of patterned tissue-paper kites resembling trapped butterflies.
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Rani Sipri's Mosque
The small Rani Sipri's Mosque is also known as the Masjid-e-Nagira (Jewel of a Mosque) because of its graceful construction, with slender minarets - again a blend of styles. It's said to have been commissioned in 1514 by a wife of Sultan Mahmud Begara after he executed their son for some minor misdemeanour - she is also buried here.
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Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum
The Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum, near Gujarat University, houses fine stone, marble and wood carvings from around India, as well as local bronzes, cloth paintings and coins. Among the sculptures is a sandstone carving from Madhya Pradesh dating from the 6th century AD, the oldest-known carved image of the god Rama.
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Sidi Saiyad’s Mosque
Sidi Saiyad’s Mosque, close to the river, was once part of the old citadel wall. Constructed in 1573 by Sidi Saiyad, a sometime slave of Ahmed Shah, it is one of Ahmedabad’s most stunning buildings, with exquisite jalis, spiderweb fine, depicting the intricate intertwining branches of the ‘tree of life’.
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Rani Rupmati's Mosque
Rani Rupmati's Mosque, built between 1430 and 1440, was named after the Hindu wife of the sultan. The minarets were damaged in the great earthquake of 1819. The dome is elevated to allow light in around its base. Like so many of Ahmedabad's early mosques, it combines elements of Hindu and Islamic design.
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Raj Babri Mosque
The shaking minarets of the Raj Babri Mosque, in Gomtipur, were destroyed by their ingenuity, as one was partially dismantled by an inquisitive Englishman in an unsuccessful attempt to find out how it worked. It was never completely repaired, then in 2001 both minarets collapsed. Repairs continue.
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Shreyas Folk Museum
The Shreyas Folk Museum, in the suburb of Ambavadi, displays an impressive range of Gujarati folk arts and crafts, with elaborately decorated everyday items, including textiles, clothing and woodcarving. Take bus 34 or 200 (Rs. 5), or an autorickshaw costs around Rs. 50.
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Tomb of Ahmed Shah
The Tomb of Ahmed Shah, built after his death in 1442, stands outside the Jama Masjid's east gate, and includes his son and grandson's cenotaphs. Women are not allowed in the central chamber. Across the street on a raised platform is his queen's tomb, now a market and in poor shape.
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Ahmed Shah's Mosque
Southwest of Bhadra Fort and dating from 1414, Ahmed Shah's Mosque was one of the city's earliest mosques. It has an elaborately carved ceiling with a circular symmetry reminiscent of Hindu and Jain temples, and beautiful pillars and jalis.
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Hatheesingh Temple
Outside Delhi Gate, north of the old city, the Jain Hatheesingh Temple is constructed of delicately carved white marble. Built in 1848, it’s dedicated to Dharamanath, the 15th Jain tirthankar (great teacher).
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Gujarat Science City
This educational Gujarat Science City theme park is well worth a visit. Features include an IMAX theatre, the interactive Hall of Science, a 30-seater Thrill Ride Simulator, a spot-lit Musical Fountain, and an Energy Education Park.
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Swaminarayan Temple
Dive into the old city's narrow streets to find the glorious, multicoloured, woodcarved Swaminarayan Temple, a great, grand haveli (traditional, ornately decorated residence) dating from 1850, enclosed in a large courtyard.
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Calico Museum of Textiles
This museum contains one of the world’s finest collections of antique and modern Indian textiles – there are some astoundingly beautiful pieces here, displaying incredible virtuosity and extravagance.
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Kankaria Lake
Built in 1451, the polygonal Kankaria Lake, southeast of the city, is a breath of fresh air, and a popular place for a promenade. There is a grand colonial Dutch tomb nearby, one of Gujarat's oldest.
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Sidi Bashir Mosque
The Sidi Bashir Mosque is famed for its 21.3m-high shaking minarets (jhulta minars). Built to shake to protect against earthquake damage, this certainly worked in 2001.
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Teen Darwaja
To the east of Bhadra Fort stands the Teen Darwaja, which was the gateway into the Royal Square, or Maidan Shahi, where royal processions and polo games took place.
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Mata Bhavani's Well
Mata Bhavani's Well is about 200m north of Dada Hari Wav. Thought to be several hundred years older, it's less ornate and used as a simple Hindu temple.
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Kite Museum
On the ground floor of the City Museum is the Kite Museum, with a selection of patterned tissue-paper kites resembling trapped butterflies.
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Utensil Museum
The Utensil Museum, opposite Vasana Tol Naka, displays the graceful practicality of pots and utensils.
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