Ahmedabad, this 611 year old city is famous for its craftsmanship, architecture and many more surprising things,this city is the biggest example of Hindu-Muslim unity in the whole world.The history of this city and some of the legends related to that history, whether it is the stories of the magician Manek or the conversation between that guard and goddess Lakshmi at the teen darwaza (three doors) .Ahmedabad has influenced the whole world with both.Ahmedabad has made itself supreme in cultural, economic and social terms. Ahmedabad is also called the Manchester of the East due to the abundance of textile industries.
On the archaeological basis, it can be said that in the vicinity of Ahmedabad, people must have started the process of settling from the 11th century. This region would have been known as Ashapalli or Ashaval at that time.Solanki and Vaghela rule was established in this region. In the 15th century, the Delhi Sultanate invaded Gujarat and Gujarat became a part of the Delhi Sultanate.Seeing the weakening of the Delhi Sultanate, Gujarat declared itself an independent state and in 1411, Sultan AhmedShah established independent Gujarat.Ahmed Badshah had laid the foundation of the city of Ahmedabad in the year 1411 of his coronation.There are many reasons behind why Ahmed Shah preferred Ahmedabad for the capital. Patan, the ancient capital of Gujarat, did not have much importance from the political point of view, while the army could easily be mounted on any part of Gujarat from Ahmedabad
Coming back from Bharuch, Ahmed Shah had rested in AshaVal, then he liked the atmosphere there.
A legend is prevalent for why Ahmed Shah preferred Ahmedabad for the capital, but no one has yet got the basic information of how much truth there is in it.Once Sultan Ahmed Shah was walking on the banks of the Sabarmati river. Then he saw a rabbit chasing the dog. The emperor thought in his mind that when the small creatures here are so powerful, then how powerful will the people here be? The emperor decided in his mind that the new capital would be built at this place. This incident has also been told in the form of a proverb.
Ahmed Badshah is said to have sought the advice of a holy man of high order such as Khatt Jangbaksh Saheb. He sought permission from Hazrat Pir Khwaja. He told that if not a single day is missed in the five-time(Namaz) prayers if the foundation of this city is laid by the hands of four such people named Ahmed then the city will prosper.Four Ahmeds were found from the region.Ahmed Badshah laid the foundation of this city on 26 February 1411 near Manek Burj ( today's Ellisbridge) Initially it was named Ahmedabad. Then it came to be known as Amdavad.Spread over an area of five and a half kilometers, Ahmedabad was surrounded by walls. At that time his settlement was as much as 4 lakhs. People lived in old wooden houses measuring 600 poles.Later in the time of independent sultanate, the emperors of Gujarat developed and expanded Ahmedabad. Independent sultanate fell in Gujarat! Ahmedabad was the capital of Gujarat even when Gujarat was ruled by Mughals! Similarly, during the Maratha era, Ahmedabad was the headquarter of Gujarat.
Gujarat's 611-year-old historic Ahmedabad has been accorded World Heritage status in the 41st session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.At the meeting held in Kraków, Poland, India's only and first Ahmedabad to be honored as a World Heritage City was supported by 20 countries from around the world.
These countries were Turkey,Lebanon,Peru,Kazakhstan,Poland,Jamaica,Finland,Azerbaijan,Vietnam,
Zimbabwe,Tanzania,South Korea ,Angola and Cuba supported Ahmedabad as World Heritage City.
Places to Visit ..
The construction of Ahmedabad started from the fort of Bhadra in the time of Ahmedshah . It is also called "Arak's Fort" in Mirat-E-Ahmedi to the east of the fort were two large gates calling their main gate the gate of Piranpir, which is today known as the gate of Bhadra. Mirat-E-Ahmedi states that the east-west length of Bhadra fort is 487 yards and the north-south width is 400 yards. The fort had an area of 43 acres and had 12 towers.Many of the buildings in the fort of Bhadra are now extinct.
This is the first building to be built in the time of Sultan Ahmed Shah after the foundation of Ahmedabad was laid. It is clear that architecturea took the material of the temple in the construction of this mosque. Ahmedshah's mosque is still standing today. He started building this mosque along with Bhadra fort and it was completed in 1414 AD.
jama Masjid is the oldest mosque in the city of Ahmedabad. the masjid is short distance near the fort of Bhadra,it was built for the Muslim population of the city which was completed in 1424.It is the biggest mosque of Ahmedabad. On the east side of the mosque is the tomb of Ahmed Shah, his son and grandson.it is called Raja ka Hajira. Nearby is the tomb of the queen, which is called the Rani ka Hajira.Beautiful and artistic art is seen in the Rani ka Hajira.A beautiful match of Indo-Islamic architecture is seen in the structure of this mosque, there is huge hall for praying to Allah .
The gate between Bhadra Fort and Jama Masjid is almost 611 years old but its splendor is still alive today, especially the lamp which has been burning for years in the doorway between the three gates is still burning in the same way today.This lamp symbolizes the faith of Hindus and Muslims For centuries a Muslim man has been lighting this lamp even today. This lamp of hope provides an excellent example of Hindu-Muslim unity.
The construction of Hauj-E-Qutub or Kankaria Lake was started by Sultan Qutbuddin AhmedShah II.
Its construction was completed in 1451. The lake covers an area of 76 acres.The lake is made up of 34 identical angles and is surrounded by steps. It has a beautifully carved sieve for entering water. In center of the lake the Sultan built a small palace and garden which is today known as "Naginawadi".During the visit to Gujarat, Jahangir and NoorJahan also spent a day and night in this Naginawadi.
Kankaria Lake has attractions like aquarium, natural and historical museum ,zoo and Amusement park .
Jhulta minara a symbol of architecture near Sarangpur, Ahmedabad, which has become a major center of attraction for people entire i dia and overseas.
The peculiarity of this minaret is that one minaret is shaken and the other minaret also moves along with it. This is indeed a mysterious building.The minaret is three storeyed and has been carved on it.
The Sidi Masjid, located in the Lal Darwaza area of Ahmedabad, is one of the most famous and oldest mosques in the city.This mosque was built by Sidhi Sayyed, the slave of Ahmed Badshah.Amazing examples of craftsmanship and carving work can be seen in this mosque.There is a famous lattice on one of the walls of Sidi Sayyed Mosque in Ahmedabad city. The peculiarity of this lattice is that such a large lattice is made of a single stone.
The history of Ahmedabad pols should be more than 300 years. The first polle of Ahmedabad is Muhurtpole located in Manekchowk.
The biggest one is Mandavi pole and after this 168 poles were mades in Ahmedabad.The highest number of polos were in Kalupur, Dariapur, Khadia, Jamalpur, Raipura and Saraspur.There were 300 to 400 houses in the small polls. Most of the temples, wells, courtyards and terraces can be seen inside the polls.
Dada Harini Vav in Asarwa area of Ahmedabad is a historical Vav. It was made up of five floors.It was built in 1449 AD, the Vav is even deeper and wider than the Adalaj Vav.This Vav was built in the time of Sultan Mahmud Shah when Bai Hari was known as Sultan's Running .This vav later became known as Dada Harini Vav,
At that time it cost 3 lakh 29000 mehmoodi(currency).Under the supervision of Muslim , the Hindu craftsmen had done the work of Vav.
This stepwell was made of sand stones and many artistic pillars were also installed in it.A well was built in this stepwell, inside which rain water was stored and given to the people region. The length of the stepwell is 241 feet and the height is 190 feet.
The village of Adalaj near Ahmedabad is home to another famous Adalaj Vav of this era. It is a five-storied Vav built in 1498 AD.Below this Vav is an inscription in Sanskrit which gives information about this Vav.
According to this inscription, the construction of Adalaj ki Vav was started by Raja RanaVeer Singh of the Vaghela dynasty. During his time there was a scarcity of water due to which people had to keep their base on the rain water.Mohammad Begada fought with RanaVeer Singh and defeated Ranaveer Singh. After that he completed the construction of this Vav in Indo-Islamic style.
0 Comments
If you have any doubt let me know