Ahmedabad: An Area Rich in History

As we continue our tour of Ahmedabad, you will find four more of the places that are rich in history. In this large city, there is literally something for everyone. By the time you have explored even half of what is available, you will agree that this is one of the richest vacations you have embarked upon.

The Calico Museum of Textiles is widely regarded as one of the finest textile museums in the world. It was built in 1949. The Museum is home to at least five hundred years of the finest fabrics spun, woven, printed and painted in different parts of India. It also has a collection of marble, sandstone and bronze icons and busts. These latter displays are split into two thematic sections-a gallery for religious textiles and one for historical textiles.

Kankaria Lake is circular lake constructed in 1451 by Sultan Qutubub-Din. At the center of the lake is an island garden with a summer palace, known as Nagina Wadi. The lake is a popular recreation center surrounded by parks, ‘Bal Vatika’, an aquarium, a boat club, a natural history museum and a zoo. This is one of the most family-oriented places to visit and you should plan an entire day for this.

The Mosque of Sidi Sayed, near Lal Darwaja is world-renowned for its magnificent stone tracery, in particular, the splendid Jali screen, which is framed with ten semi-circular windows. It is a fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture and its models in miniature are the best-known souvenirs of the city

The Siddi Bashir Mosque is best known for its Shaking Minaret or Jhulta Minar. When one minaret is shaken the other one begins to vibrate. The mosque was obviously built by master craftsmen and the crucial mechanism that causes the vibration is still a mystery.