Certain parts of our country house the beautiful architectural and cultural evidences of the bygone eras. Gujarat is one of these historic cities, the essence of which if not visited, will remain confined in the pages of history.The few of the underground architectural masterpieces are the highlights of Ahmedabad. Your itinerary for a trip to Ahmedabad, will remain slightly less amusing, if these are not covered in it. Along with the touch of historic and mystic architectural spots, you can spoil yourself with lip-smacking street food, shopping and the best of luxury and amenities at the hotels in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Amdavadnigufa
Formerly known as the ‘Husain Doshini Gufa’, this art gallery sprawls underground, symbolizing the architectural skills of BalkrishnaVithaldasDoshi, and the pricelessartistry of Maqbool FidaHusain.Inspired by the shape of tortoise-shells, soap bubbles, this rare piece of contemporary architecture has mosaic tiles, alike the Girnar’s Jain temple, covering the inter-connected domes. The architect BalkrishnaVithaldasDoshi had designed this underground gallery, with elliptical and circular interiors, inspired by the caves of Ajanta and Ellora. This gallery has no concrete structure of walls, instead the domes continue till the ground taking support from irregular columns resembling tree trunks. The interior surface of the caves, served as the canvas of Maqbool, who had brushed the interiors of the cave with bright colours and lively motifs of humans and animals. A few metal sculptures and the intelligently designed light entry spots on the cave ceilings render a mystic feeling to its visitors.
Teen Darwaza
Being one of the first and longest gateways of the city of Ahmedabad, this is another piece of ancient Islamic architecture. This tri-arched monument has secured its place in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s logo.The three arches of ‘Teen darwaza’ lead to the spacious courtyard of the former Maidan Shah palace. Lying on the east of the Bhadra Fort, this place used to be one of the favorite spots of Jahangir, the Mughal emperor. A procession used to be held from this ‘Teen Dawaza’ to ‘Jama Masjid’, every year. A ’farman’, more popular as ‘Maratha inscriptions’ in Devnagari script depicting equal rights of women on their ancestral property, had been engraved under the instructions of ChimnajiRagunath, a Maratha governor. The mesh windows, the beautiful engravings, the ornate designs of this ‘Teen Darwaza’ had made it one of the favourite tourist sites of the city.
DadaHarir Stepwell
In a street of the quiet residential areas and the coal lands of Ahmedabad, this stepwell is nestled. This five-storied deep sandstone stepwell portrays the Solanki pattern of architecture.DhaiHarir, who supervised the residence of the royal ladies of sultan Mahmud Begada, had built this stepwell, in the year of 1485.Standing on the top of the stairs, one can view several stairs cascaded with several columns, leading to the stories beneath. As you move down a few stairs, you can see inscriptions in Arabic as well as Sanskrit, and motifs of various designs beautifully carvedon the walls. A drive of roughly ten kilometres from any of the hotels at Ahmedabad city-centre, you can enjoy lit and shadowed walls of asultanate household at this vintage asset of Gujarat.