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Directorate Of Archeology
Important Monuments
There are in
all 329 monuments declared as protected
under the care of the State Department of
Archaeology. These include temples,
stepwells, kunds (or tanks), caves, mosques,
tombs (Dargahs), inscriptions and ancient
mounds (settlements). The Central
Department of Archaeology called the
Archeological Survey of India, also has
quite a number of monuments under its care
and these are of national importance.
Monuments of
national importance are concentrated in
Ahmedabad and majority of them belonging to
Sultanate period. It will be iof interest
of note that Ahmedabad was founded by Ahmad
Shah in A.D. 1411. The monuments of note in
Ahmedabad are :
|
(1) |
Mosque
of Ahmad Shah |
(A.D.
1414) |
|
(2) |
Tin
(Triple) Darwaja |
(C.A.D.
1411) |
|
(3) |
Jami
Mosque |
(A.D.
1424) |
|
(4) |
Ahmed
Shah's tomb |
(A.D.
1442) |
|
(5) |
Sidi
Bashir's Minar's (Shaking minarets) |
(Early 16th
cent.) |
|
(6) |
Rani
Sipri's mosque |
(early 16th
cent. A.D.) |
|
(7) |
Sidi
Sayyid's mosque with famous ornate windows |
(A.D.
1572) |
|
(8) |
Adalaj
Stepwell situate din the Adalaj village
on way to Gandhinagar at a distance of 18 Kms. From Ahmedabad |
(A.D.
1499) |
|
(9)
|
Rani-ki-Vav, Patan situated 140 kms from
Ahmedabad, can be reached by train or
Road upto Mehsana and then on to Patan. |
(A.D.
1027) |
|
(10) |
Lothal :
The
excavated Harappan settlement of Lothal
Is situated some 80 km from Ahmedabad
and can be reached by road via. Bagodra
on Ahmedabad – Limbdi highway.
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|
(11) |
Sun
Temple, Modhera : Built by
Bhimdeva-I, it is one of the few major
temples dedicated to Sun god in India,
others being Martand in Kashmir and
Konark in Orissa. Can be reached by
road from Ahmedabad (Distance 110 km)
|
(A.D.
1024) |
|
(12) |
Dholavira
: |
|
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Another
extensive Harappan City under excavation
by the A.S.I., in Khadir in Kutch. It
is reached from AHMEDABAD by
Ahmedabad-Kandla highway upto
Samakhiyali and thence to Dholavira Via.
Rapar. The distance from Ahmedabad is
310 km. via Radhanpur.
|
|
(13) |
Sun Temple
near the village of Jinawali Gop : |
|
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Sun Temple
near the village of Jinawali Gop in the
Jamkandorna Talulka of Jamnagar
district. can be reached from
Jamnagar. It is a distance of 60 km. on
the highway via. Lalpur. It is the
earliest temple in Gujarat (7th A.D.) |
|
(14) |
Dwarkadish temple at Darka : |
|
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It is the
famous pilgrim centre on the western
coast associated with Lord Krishna's
life. There are a number of other
temples including Rukmini Temple and Bet
Dwarka shrines. This was also the locus
of underwater archaeology to locate the
submerged city of Dwarka of Shri
Krishna's time. |
|
(15) |
Champaner : |
|
|
The
capital of Gujarat at one time during
Sultanate rule, it is fortified township
which once consisted of beautiful
architecture in the form of palaces,
mosques, hamams (bathrooms) and well
planned gardens. it can be reached from
Ahmedabad via. Baroda. The distance
from Ahmedabad is 150 km. |
|
(16) |
Jain
Caves at Dhank : |
|
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Jain Caves
at Dhank near Upleta in the Rajkot
district are the only Jaina. |
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As far as getting accommodation is
concerned, Ahmedabad has a number of
hotels and resthouses ranging from
two-star to five-star and cuisine ranges
from Indian Gujarati thali to Mughlai,
Continental and Chinese. For Lothal,
Ahmedabad is the best bet for staying
though Limbdi has some small Indian
stuyle hotels. For Modhera and
Rani-ki-Vav, Mehsana or Patan can be
selected as halting places with Indian
style accommodation in small hotels.
For Dholavira, no accommodation is
available in the village itself. Rapar
which is 80 km. on way to Dholavira has
small guest houses with Indian style
food. Sun Temple at Jinawali Gop is on
the way to Dwarka, where private star
hotels and a hotel run by the Tourism
Department can cater to all tastes.
Alternatively, Jamnagar boasts of
five-star accommodation. For Champaner,
Baroda can be the best choice as all
kinds of accommodation and cuisine are
available.
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