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Select bright, block-printed Ahmedabadi textiles at shops in the passage leading from Manek Chowk to the Badshah no Hajira. Another good place to visit is the retail outlet of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), Banascraft (8 Chandan Complex, CG Road). SEWA is Gujarat's largest co-operative union and buying their products is all for a good cause. On Ashram Road, across from the landmark Bata Showroom, is the Gujarat state crafts emporium, Gurjari, a good place to pick traditional crafts from all over the state.
Name Ahmedabad is named after its founder Ahmed Shah I, the second Sultan of
the Gujarat Sultanate
Age The city was founded in 1411 AD but some historians state that Ahmedabad stands on the site called Karnavati, established by King Karna (1064-1094)
State Gujarat
Location At the cusp of the agricultural hinterland of south-central Gujarat and the scrub lands of Kutch/ Kathiawar. The modern city of Ahmedabad is almost equally divided on either side of the Sabarmati River
Distance 545 km N of Mumbai
Route from Mumbai NH8 to Ahmedabad via Vapi, Chikhli, Navsari, Bharuch, Vadodra and Kheda
When to go
Oct-Feb is quite pleasant. Catch the nine-day long Navaratri celebrations (Oct-Nov) when colourful dances happen through the night
Tourist office
Gujarat Tourism Office
H.K. House, Ashram Road
Ahmedabad
Tel: 079-26589172/ 7217/ 9683
Fax: 26582183
Email: ahmedabad@gujarattourism.com
Website: www.gujarattourism.com
STD code 079
Getting there
Air Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport (14 km/ 1/2 hr). Connected with major Indian cities and also Colombo, Muscat, London and New York. Pre-paid taxis available. Taxi costs about Rs 270 and auto Rs 140
Rail Ahmedabad Station, connected to Mumbai (Shatabdi Express) and Delhi (Rajdhani and Ashram Express)
Road NH8 links Ahmedabad with Mumbai (545 km) and Delhi (873 km). NH8A links it with central Gujarat. A good network of deluxe and luxury buses between Ahmedabad and Mumbai and all major cities of the state
http://traveller.outlookindia.com/destinationlink.aspx?id=34&destinationid=50
Walk the walk
There is perhaps no better introduction to the urban heritage of Old Ahmedabad than the Heritage Walk conducted every morning by the Municipal Corporation of Ahmedabad (MCA) and the Cruta Foundation. The walk is preceded by a slideshow. It starts at the Swami Narayan Mandir at Kalupur and ends at Manek Chowk. Register at the office in the temple compound.
*Contact Heritage MCA Coordinator Mr Chandrashekhar, Mobile: 0-9327021686, Tel: 079-5391811 Fee Indians and SAARC nationals Rs 20, foreigners Rs 50 Timings 8-10.30 am, all days except Diwali
The Swami Narayan Mandir built in 1850 is the oldest temple of the Swami Narayan sect in the city. It's a fine example of Maratha and Jain temple architecture and has rich and detailed carving on the inner facade of the entrance arch.
TIP: Visit the temple before the rush for the morning aarti (8 am)
En route, the guides show you the tall, intricately carved bird feeders found all across the city ' a symbol of Ahmedabad's non-violent Jain community. Also take note of the traditional rainwater collection systems called tankas. Jain temples reveal unexpected riches. Be sure to ask about the pols and the secret passages. Says Mrinalini Sarabhai, 'The heritage walk is a fine way of creating awareness about architecture, especially in children.'
The walk's highlight is the 90-year-old Doshiwada ni Pol, actually a haveli with a windowless street facade. The 40-room haveli has carved cherubs, sharp gabled roofs, tall gothic windows and zig-zag wooden stairs ' all overlooking a central courtyard, the sole source of ventilation. See the havelis' bridge-corridors from here.Museum tour
Considered to be one of India''s finest `specialised' destinations, the Calico Museum, in Shahi Bagh, was the inspiration of Indian art historian Dr Ananda Coomaraswamy. It was set up in 1949 by the Sarabhais to document the history of textiles in India. It has a rich collection dating back a few centuries, exhibited in the glorious setting of the old Sarabhai haveli. An absolute must-see, though the guides tend to speed through the tour.
Entry Restricted to a free guided tour on `secular textiles' at 10.30 am and on `religious textiles' at 2.30 pm; closed on Wednesdays and government holidays Cameras Not allowed
TIP You may arrange a private viewing by appointment (Tel: 079-22865995)
Across the banks of the Sabarmati, north-west of Swami Narayan Temple, is the Gandhi Memorial Museum and Library and Gandhi Ashram. Imbibe this oasis of tranquility. Understand the man that was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The library displays the letters he wrote, including one addressed to Hitler, in 1939, ''Will you listen to the appeal of one who has deliberately shunned the method of war not without considerable success?' There are also envelopes of letters that reached Gandhi without a mailing address ' like the one simply addressed to `Excellence Monsieur le President Gandi'. The ashram, set up in 1918, is preserved in all its simplicity.
*Entry fee Free Timings 10.30 am-6.30 pm
On the Gujarat University campus is the LD Museum of Indology and the N.C. Mehta Miniature Gallery. They have rich art collections well worth a visit. The collections include medieval bronzes and writing instruments, and rare pre-Mughal and pre-Rajasthani miniature paintings.
*Entry Free Timings 10.30 am-5.30 pm, Mondays closed
In a building designed by Le Corbusier, across the road from the National Institute of Design, are the Kite Museum and the Ahmedabad City Museum. The Kite Museum has a superb collection of kites from all over the world. On the floor above is the Ahmedabad City Museum that has a wide-ranging collection of artefacts. It also has a section on the religious minorities of the city.
*Entry Free Timings 10 am-6 pm, Mondays closed Still camera Free Video With permission
TIP Hire a cab (Rs 5-8 per km, depending on type of car) for the day (8 hrs/ 80 km) if you want to move at your own pace instead of doing it by the tourist coach arranged by Gujarat Tourism
Checkmate
Head for Mirzapur, about 1 km north within the Old City, where rapid roadside chess is played. The games begin early evening and continue till the wee hours of the morning. Some of the players here have been regulars for the last 50 years! Anyone can join in but be warned the game is played at a mind-boggling speed.
A matter of faith
Apart from the grand Jama Masjid, Old Ahmedabad has over 50 smaller mosques dating back to the 15th and early 16th centuries. The most elegant is Rani Sipris Mosque, near Astodia Gate. Also known as Masjid-e-Nagina (jewel among mosques), the shrine has intricate sandstone carvings with Hindu and Muslim motifs. The detailed jharokhas on the south walls and the slender sky-bound minarets are breathtaking. Perhaps the finest example of Gujarat Sultanate architecture, it is also, to quote Fergusson, ''the most perfectly Hindu of the buildings of the city.'
The other must-see mosque is the Sidi Saiyyad Mosque near the Khanpur Gate. It is famous for the unique carved stone tracery on its 10 semi-circular windows.
Close to the city railway station are the Shaking Minarets in the Sidi Bashir Mosque, built in 1461. The two minarets, approximately 70 m high, have carved stone balconies. If one minaret is shaken, the other one trembles after a few seconds ' but not the ground between them! Climbing up the minarets and `shaking' them though has been disallowed.
Mosque timings 5.30 am-9 pm
See the wonderful steep-roofed Victorian Gothic stained-glass masterpiece that is the Church of North India. Built in 1900, it has dark, wood panelled pews and ceiling.
Entry Free Timings Open Sundays
Off Manek Chowk are the Badshah no Hajira and Rani no Hajira tombs. The Rani no Hajira was built in the 15th century for the queens of Ahmed Shah. It's on an elevated platform, surrounded by arcades and pierced stone screens. The Hajira is usually locked but you can ask the guard to open it. Inside the enclosure, there's a peaceful open courtyard with wonderfully carved marble cenotaphs. Across the road is the Badshah no Hajira, the magnificently domed 15th century tomb complex containing the revered graves of Ahmed Shah I and his heirs.
To the east is the Jama Masjid, built by Ahmed Shah II in 1424. It has an undeniable feeling of both space and tranquility. It is believed that the mosque had tall minarets that were destroyed during an earthquake in 1819 AD. The central tank, covered by a roof supported by carved wooden pillars, is cool even on the hottest summer day.
Leaving the north gate of the Jama Masjid, and heading left, you walk through a busy commercial stretch towards the Teen Darwaza, the ceremonial gateway built by Ahmed Shah. The Teen Darwaza includes two Ahmedabadi institutions of sorts ' the Vadilal Soda Fountain and Bhatiyar Gali.
The Bhadra is a disappointing 1411 citadel just a short walk away. Most of it is inaccessible and what little can be seen, apart from a clock tower dating from 1849, is either dilapidated or encroached upon. The tall and imposing entrance to Azam Khan's Palace is nigh on hand. Azam Khan, the 23rd Mughal governor of Gujarat, was known as the `white ant' or udhai for his propensity to build wherever he went. The gateway is now cluttered with roadside typists and stenographers.
Kankaria (3 km)
Another of Qutbuddin Ahmed Shah's water initiatives, south-east of Ahmedabad, is the Kankaria Tank, begun in 1446. Though it is a 34-sided polygon, its proportions are large enough for it to look like a circle. Right in the middle is a garden island, connected to the shore by a causeway called the Nagina Wadi. Just to the west of Kankaria, now known as the Hanging Gardens, are Dutch and Armenian tombs, dating 1615-1700. Obelisks, pyramids and pavilions mark these tombs and graves.
Asarva (6 km)
The Dada Hari Vav (step well), now dry, is a magnificent structure, seven-storey deep. The pillars down the broad stairs, have beautiful carvings. Built in 1501, it is an architectural delight. Nearby is the mosque and tomb of Bai Harir. Inside the tomb, according to local belief, are the graves of the masons who constructed the well.
Patan (133 km)
Take a left from Unjha to reach the old city of Patan. From 942-1304, Anhilvada Patan was the capital of the Solanki kings of Gujarat. The meticulously sculpted 11th century Rani Ka Vav is undoubtedly the most beautiful of all Gujarat step-wells. The deeper you go into the well, the greater the sculptural detailing you'll find.
Little remains of the Sahastralinga Talao close by. Built by Siddharaj Jayasimha (1094-1142), it's an impressive serpentine artificial lake (now dry) with high earthen embankments, stone ghats and the remnants of a Shiva temple.
Patan is also known for its patola sari weaving. The Salvis are the most famous weavers of Patan. Ask for them around the main bazaar and look for the distinct patola elephant design, executed in tile, over the doorway leading into their workshop. It is fascinating to watch the weavers at work, passing the shuttle between them. It takes six months to weave a single sari.Siddhpur (119 km)
Continue north on the state highway from Mahesana city for another 50 km and you'll reach Siddhpur via Unjha. Here you come across rows and rows of palatial wooden 19th century townhouses. Painted in muted pastel colours and built three-to-four storeys high, most of them were built by the Bohras, Gujarat's prosperous mercantile Muslim community. Today, most of the houses remain locked for the better part of the year and present a strangely quiet and deserted European town look. But once a year (usually in December), the streets again throb with life as the Bohra families return to Siddhpur for social ceremonies.
Also in Siddhpur are the enigmatic ruins of Rudra Mahalaya, the remains of a 12th century temple with tantric overtones (check out the sculpture on the outer walls). No photography is allowed but the place is definitely worth a visit.
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