Ahmedabad is the second largest textile city in the country
and has rightly been designated as the 'Manchester of
India'. The knitted fabrics of most intricacy, painted,
printed and tie-dye fabrics, some of them with excellent
embroidery and garishly bespangled with little round pieces
of mirror, all are magnificent.
How To Get There
Air
Ahmedabad is well connected with Bombay,Delhi,Bangalore,Madras,Jaipur,Indore,
and Calcutta.
Rail
Ahmedabad is directly connected to Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta,
Madras, Trivandrum, Varanasi etc.
Road
Ahmedabad is connected with Baroda (Vadodara) 113 km,
Mt. Abu 228 km, Udaipur 252 km, Jaipur 657 km, Bombay
545 km, Gandhinagar 25 km, Modhera 110 km, Nal Sarovar
71 km and Lothal 80 km.
In and around
Siddi Sayyad's Mosque
This mosque is a fine example of Indo-Islamic style of
architecture. It was built by Sidi Saiyed, a slave of
Ahmad Shah in 1572. Its most striking feature is the pierced
marble windows, with fine workmanship, a stone, filigree
of creepers and leaves as intricate as a lace. This small
but beautiful mosque is near Sabarmati Ashram.
The Calico Museum
Is one of the highlight of the city. It is very interesting
museum which has fabrics from all the corners of the country
on display and some of them date back to Mughal times.
it includes a few relics of Akbar and Shah Jahan, elaborately
embroided.
Adalaj Vava
This step well was built in 1489 by queen Radabai, a queen
of the Waghela dynasty. There are artistic galleries at
various levels. Its walls and pillars wre richly decorated
with carvings of leaves, flowers, birds, fish and other
ornate designs. It is a five-storey structure meant for
providing cool and secluded chambers during hot summer
months.
The Sun temple
The Sun temple at Modhera a three hour journey by road
north of Ahmedabad, is one of the finest examples of Indian
temple architecture. Built in 1026, during the reign of
King Bhinder of the Solanki dynasty, the temple is dedicated
to the Sun God, Surya.
Shaking Minarets
Shaking Minarets of Sidi Bashir's Mosque are unique in
its own way, when one minaret is shaken the other minaret
vibrates too. These were constructed in this manner as
a safeguard against earthquake. The Raja Bibi Moaque also
has such minarets.
Bhadra fort
The foundation of this old fort was laid in 1411 and it
once enclosed the royal palaces and gardens.
Kankaria Lake
It is a circular lake almost a mile in circumference,
which was constructed in 1451 by Sultan Qutb Ud Din. In
the center of the lake is an island garden with a summer
palace known as Nagina Wadi.
Rani Rupmati Mosque
It is an excellent example of Indo-Islamic architecture.
It was built in 1430 and named after the Sultan's Hindu
queen Rupmati. Its towering minarets were destroyed in
the 1819 earthquake.
Juma Masjid
It is one of the finest and the biggest mosques of India.
Situated near Gandhi Road and Teen Darwaza, this mosque
has 260 columns supporting the roof with its 15 domes.
Sabarmati Ashram
Ahmedabad is not only possessed of historic monuments,
unsurpassed in their elegance, embellishment and fusion
of Hindu and Muslim styles, but also of a great pilgrimage
center and shrine of Mahatma Gandhi. This Ashram situated
on the serene west bank of the river Sabarmati, is the
place where Gandhiji lived from 1918 to 1930.
