The first point that attracted my attention towards this ancient city is it's heritage value.In Ahmedabad,heritage walk is conducted by two organisations.One by AMC(Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation) & CRUTA Foundation and another by House of MG.
I have decided to have the walk conducted by AMC First.This walk starts at sharp 8 AM daily from Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple.The Charges are Rs.50 for Indian National.
The walk starts with a short 15 min audio-visual presentation in a room just above the main gate of Swaminarayan Temple.This presentation is quite interesting and should not be missed.I suggest to have some clicks of the surroundings from the windows of this dome shaped room.
After this presentation,you will get 10 min of the time to explore this mega swaminarayan temple,which is not at all enough to cover this beautiful temple which is having riot of colors as well as very beautiful carvings on its wooden pillars.I would suggest to reach half an hour in advance and discover this place before the start of the walk.Photography is allowed here.
The next stop is near by Poet Dalpatram home which was recently renovated.The walk is also named as a walk from temple to the mosque (Mandir se Masjid tak).So,the walk starts from Hindu areas then take you to Jain areas and finally culminated in Muslim area.
The knowledgeable guide ,who is actually a volunteer from CRUTA Foundation takes you from Pol to Pol.Pol is actually a walled community living area with a security gate and a security cabin atop the gate.Their are around 600 Pols in this area and around 1600 temples in them.
Each Pol is self contained with a meeting area,bird feeding pole,notice board and secret passage to be used during emergencies.Each Pol is meant for a community to satiate their needs and habits.
The next stop was at Kala Ramji Temple,which is having idol of Lord Rama in black color and sans their Armour of bow and arrow. The temple is made up of Burma teak and their is beautiful carvings on the pillars of the temple courtyards.You can see the ladies playing different instruments on every pillar.
After this temple,the walk enters into the Jain Area which is full of beautiful jain temples like Shantinathji Temple at Haja Patel ni pol,Chaumukhi temple,ashtapadji temple but the temple that is really catches the eye is Sambhavnath Ji temple in sambhavnath ni khadki.This temple is having 400 years old still functioning rain water harvesting system.This Temple is built underground and having magnificent mega idols of Jain Tirthankar's.This was mainly built underground to save the idols from musilm raiders.
In the near by pol,you can also see the amalgamation of 4 styles of construction in a single frame viz. British,Mugal,Persian and Maratha.Their are in built holes in the outer walls of the homes for the birds to make ready-made nests.
The next ,you will see is Harkunvar setha ni Haveli which is having largest wooden brackets of ahmedabad.The guide will also show you the unique construction styles in these pols which saved old area from 2001 earthquake.Old city never get flooded as it is also having very good sewage system in place put by the Britisher's.There are unique poles in areas that shows the direction of sewage lines.
Now the walk will take you from under the Fernandes bridge,this place which is now a thriving book market was once the river bed of Manek river,a tributary of Sabarmati river.
After passing the fernandes bridge the walk will take you to the Chandla Ol.The difference between a Pol and Ol is Pol is a complete residential area while an Ol is semi commercial,semi residential area where you can find shops on ground floor and residences on upper floors.This Ol is famous for the religious pooja materials.The next stop is Manek Chowk,where you can see the old building of Ahmedabad Stock exchange,Muhurat Pol (the first pol of ahmedabad and hence the name),The Manek chowk is famous for it's vegetable market in the morning,Bullion market second only after Mumbai in turnover in the afternoon and thriving street food market in the late night.
The next stops are Rani no Hajiro and Badshah no Hajiro which are basically the tombs of King and the Queens.The final stop is the grand and beautiful Jumma Mosque.It has been said that it was the most beautiful mosque of the east in the time period of it's construction.
The interiors of mosque are quite beautiful.The mosque stands on more than 130 pillars and having separate praying area for women.The architecture of mosque is predominantly based on Jain style of construction with domes and carvings of kalash,ashoka leaves, kalpa vraksha,bells are cleary visible.
This could be due to hiring of Jain Constructor by the King or by the use of parts of demolished Jain temples.
The walk is of duration of two and half hour and I recommend to wear chappals,sandals or easily removable shoes for the walk.
The walk is very informative and should be attended by each and everyone.
I have decided to have the walk conducted by AMC First.This walk starts at sharp 8 AM daily from Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple.The Charges are Rs.50 for Indian National.
The walk starts with a short 15 min audio-visual presentation in a room just above the main gate of Swaminarayan Temple.This presentation is quite interesting and should not be missed.I suggest to have some clicks of the surroundings from the windows of this dome shaped room.
After this presentation,you will get 10 min of the time to explore this mega swaminarayan temple,which is not at all enough to cover this beautiful temple which is having riot of colors as well as very beautiful carvings on its wooden pillars.I would suggest to reach half an hour in advance and discover this place before the start of the walk.Photography is allowed here.
The next stop is near by Poet Dalpatram home which was recently renovated.The walk is also named as a walk from temple to the mosque (Mandir se Masjid tak).So,the walk starts from Hindu areas then take you to Jain areas and finally culminated in Muslim area.
The knowledgeable guide ,who is actually a volunteer from CRUTA Foundation takes you from Pol to Pol.Pol is actually a walled community living area with a security gate and a security cabin atop the gate.Their are around 600 Pols in this area and around 1600 temples in them.
Each Pol is self contained with a meeting area,bird feeding pole,notice board and secret passage to be used during emergencies.Each Pol is meant for a community to satiate their needs and habits.
The next stop was at Kala Ramji Temple,which is having idol of Lord Rama in black color and sans their Armour of bow and arrow. The temple is made up of Burma teak and their is beautiful carvings on the pillars of the temple courtyards.You can see the ladies playing different instruments on every pillar.
After this temple,the walk enters into the Jain Area which is full of beautiful jain temples like Shantinathji Temple at Haja Patel ni pol,Chaumukhi temple,ashtapadji temple but the temple that is really catches the eye is Sambhavnath Ji temple in sambhavnath ni khadki.This temple is having 400 years old still functioning rain water harvesting system.This Temple is built underground and having magnificent mega idols of Jain Tirthankar's.This was mainly built underground to save the idols from musilm raiders.
In the near by pol,you can also see the amalgamation of 4 styles of construction in a single frame viz. British,Mugal,Persian and Maratha.Their are in built holes in the outer walls of the homes for the birds to make ready-made nests.
The next ,you will see is Harkunvar setha ni Haveli which is having largest wooden brackets of ahmedabad.The guide will also show you the unique construction styles in these pols which saved old area from 2001 earthquake.Old city never get flooded as it is also having very good sewage system in place put by the Britisher's.There are unique poles in areas that shows the direction of sewage lines.
Now the walk will take you from under the Fernandes bridge,this place which is now a thriving book market was once the river bed of Manek river,a tributary of Sabarmati river.
After passing the fernandes bridge the walk will take you to the Chandla Ol.The difference between a Pol and Ol is Pol is a complete residential area while an Ol is semi commercial,semi residential area where you can find shops on ground floor and residences on upper floors.This Ol is famous for the religious pooja materials.The next stop is Manek Chowk,where you can see the old building of Ahmedabad Stock exchange,Muhurat Pol (the first pol of ahmedabad and hence the name),The Manek chowk is famous for it's vegetable market in the morning,Bullion market second only after Mumbai in turnover in the afternoon and thriving street food market in the late night.
The next stops are Rani no Hajiro and Badshah no Hajiro which are basically the tombs of King and the Queens.The final stop is the grand and beautiful Jumma Mosque.It has been said that it was the most beautiful mosque of the east in the time period of it's construction.
The interiors of mosque are quite beautiful.The mosque stands on more than 130 pillars and having separate praying area for women.The architecture of mosque is predominantly based on Jain style of construction with domes and carvings of kalash,ashoka leaves, kalpa vraksha,bells are cleary visible.
This could be due to hiring of Jain Constructor by the King or by the use of parts of demolished Jain temples.
The walk is of duration of two and half hour and I recommend to wear chappals,sandals or easily removable shoes for the walk.
The walk is very informative and should be attended by each and everyone.
