The Bhadra Fort was one of the first structures built by Sultan Ahmed Shah in 1411 when he established the city of Ahmedabad.

It houses various structures such as the main citadel and the Maidan-i Shah or the royal grounds. Another royal structure in the complex is Ahmed Shah’s Mosque, built in 1414, and used at the time as the private mosque by the rulers.

One can also find the Azam Khan’s Serai here which was built in 1637 as a caravan serai and was subsequently used as a jail in the British period. 

Interestingly, this Sultanate period fort has a famous modern structure, the Bhadra Fort Clock Tower. It was brought from London by the East India Company in 1849 at the astronomical cost of Rs. 8000.  It holds the distinction of being the first building in Ahmedabad to be electrified when, in 1915, its dials were backlit with electric lights. 

The clock had fallen into disuse but was restored in 2016 by Percy Daruwala, a Navsari-based clock restorer.

The Jama Masjid of Ahmedabad was built in 1424 for housing the growing community of the city of Ahmedabad. At the time it was built, it was perhaps the largest mosque in the subcontinent. 

Built over a long period of time, the sandstone Masjid has at its centre, a vast courtyard which can be entered from three gates located on three sides of the courtyard. The complex also has an ablution tank which is surrounded by a colonnade.

During the time of the Sultanate, the maidan on the southern side would be used as an entrance for the people of the city and the royal family would enter from the maidan on the northern side. 

There is an inscription on the mihrab (niche which indicates the western wall) which records the date of the completion of the building on the 4th of January, 1424. 

The word ‘badshah’ signifies kings and ‘hajiro’ refers to tomb. This monument, thus, as the name suggests, houses the tombs of various kings of Ahmedabad. These include the tombs of Ahmed Shah (the founder of the city), his son Muhammad Shah II and his grandson Qutubuddin Ahmed Shah II. The mausoleum itself is a massive structure topped with a dome and interspersed with perforated screen windows or jalis at regular intervals. The central chamber within the structure which houses the graves is built with white marble. The structures in this complex, especially the jalis, are an example of the highly skilled craftsmanship of the city.

Located east of the Manek Chowk are the tombs of Ahmed Shah’s wives. Like its male counterpart, the Badshah no Hajiro, this complex is decorated with exquisitely carved screen windows or jalis.  However, unlike the male tombs, this tomb is built on top of a high plinth with an open gallery and a lofty gateway and a circumambulatory path. 

This tomb complex is also known as the tomb of Mughalai Bibi after the principal queen who lies buried in the chamber. 

The jalis of the tombs are an excellent example of the exquisite craftsmanship that Ahmedabad’s architecture is dotted with. In this tomb, the jali work is done in a sequence of panels with different panels displaying different motifs such as lotus flowers, buds and leaves, creepers and geometric patterns.

On the road to the Delhi Darwaza lies Rani Rupmati’s mosque.. It was built in the latter years of Sultan Qutubuddin Ahmed Shah II’s reign by Sultan Mahmud Begada in memory of his wife, Rani Rupmati. The tomb of the queen also lies close to this mosque.

The prayer hall of the mosque has three domes. The central arch, flanked by minarets on each side, is raised so as to allow light and air to fill in the chamber. The minarets were broken in the earthquake of 1819 but still show exquisite carvings. Projected balcony windows are also located on various sides of the mosque. The building is embellished with very intricate carvings especially in its minarets.

Located close to the Astodia Gate in the walled city is the mosque and tomb of Rani Sipri, one of the wives of Sultan Mahmud Begada. Probably built by the queen herself, these structures date back to 1514. 

The mosque itself is rectangular in shape with three sides closed and one side open. The roof is supported by two rows of six double pillars. There are three mihrabs in the prayer chamber and two intricate jalis or lattice work which allow light to filter in.

Opposite the mosque is the tomb of the queen. It is a square pavilion with a central domed chamber supported by twelve pillars. The outer walls of the circumambulatory path are decorated with jali work. 

The mosque’s intricate sandstone carvings and lattice work are so beautiful that the structure is also known as the Masjid-i-Nagina or jewel of a mosque. James Fergusson, the architectural historian, while praising the mosque said, “it may be considered the gem of Ahmedabad”. 

Outside the Lal Darwaza, on the north east of the Bhadra Fort lies the famous Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, built in 1572, just a year before the city fell into the hands of the Mughals. Sidi Saiyyad was an Abyssinian in the service of Rurni Khan, the second son of the governor of Surat during Muhammad Shah’s reign. Later he joined Bilal Jhar Jhar Khan, another Abyssinian general in the army of Muzaffar Shah III.

The mosque is built of yellow sandstone with an open front and numerous arches. It is most famous for the ornate lattice work or jalis that adorn its many semi-circular windows. 

The most remarkable among these is the ‘Tree of Life’ motif which represents the tree of life that grows in paradise according to Islamic faith. The motif is also known as the Kalpavriksha and is common also in Buddhism and Hinduism.

Desecrated by the Marathas and used as public offices by the British period, the structure has seen a recent revival as it has become emblematic of the city of Ahmedabad. The Indian Institute of Management has even adopted the tree of life motif as its official logo. 

The house of MG, that is, the house of Mangaldas Girdharidas is one of those buildings in Ahmedabad that has evolved over decades. It was built in 1924 as a home for Seth Mangaldas Girdhardas, a prominent businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in Ahmedabad’s textile trade. Mahatma Gandhi was also a guest in this building for three days when he returned from South Africa in 1915. By the 1950s, all the members of the businessmen’s family had moved to the western part of Ahmedabad. As the textile business suffered, the property also fell into ruin. Parts of it were even given on rent for offices. In the 1990s, the descendant of Mangaldas, Abhay Mangaldas decided to renovate the property into a heritage hotel. It is now a famous tourist attraction in the old walled city.

Among the wonders of Ahmedabad, the shaking minarets have left a number of architects and engineers perplexed because of an interesting characteristic. When one minar is slightly shaken, the other vibrates too, while the connecting corridor does not. 

These intricately carved minarets, stand tall in the city of Ahmedabad. These were once a part of the Sidi Bashir Mosque. Some believe that the mosque was built by a slave of Ahmed Shah I, Sidi Bashir. While some others are of the opinion that it was built by Malik Sarang, a noble in the court of Mahmud Begada whose tomb is located close to the mosque. The mosque is in complete ruins as it was destroyed in the war with the Marathas in 1753. 

Interestingly, Ahmedabad has another pair of shaking minarets. One of them, though at a glance seems to be incomplete, was dismantled by the British in the attempt to study the ‘shaking’ phenomena. The British failed to succeed and moreover could not reassemble the structure, leaving it as we see it today.

The Dutch and Armenian tombs bordering the Kankaria lake date back to the early 17th century. The Dutch East India Company had obtained permission from the Mughal Emperors to erect their tombs in Ahmedabad and Sarkhej. The inscriptions on these tombs, in Dutch and Latin, date between 1649 and 1700 CE. A cluster of 49 tombs, these represent the Indo-Dutch trade of the time which involved the supply of cloth yarn, cotton and indigo to the city. The Armenian tombs could be of the Armenians who worked as brokers in the Dutch factory.

Four types of tombs can be located here, domed tombs, pyramids, walled tombs and plain gravestones. In the earthquake of 2001, the tombs suffered from extensive damage. However, the Archaeological Department with the support of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation restored the tombs thereafter.

The area of Zaveriwada is dominated by a number of Jain temples. The Chintamani Parshwanath Jain Derasar, or Temple, was constructed in 1798, in dedication to Parshwanath - the 23rd of the 24 Jain Spiritual Teachers, known as the Tirthankaras.

This temple houses images from an earlier temple that had been constructed in 1625 by Shantidas Zaveri, a renowned jeweller, and notable public figure who held the title of Nagar Seth - or Chief Merchant- in 17th century Ahmedabad. This original structure was abandoned after Prince Aurangzeb sought to turn it into a mosque for his forces. While a farmaan from his father, the Emperor Shah Jahan, deemed this act illegal, the Jain community considered the space desecrated and abandoned it.

This complex has seen many transitions in design- initially constructed in wood, this was later replaced by marble.

This steel structure that looms over the Sabarmati, is the first steel bridge of Ahmedabad, that enabled the growth of Ahmedabad, beyond the eastern bank of the River.

This bridge, named after a British Commissioner of Ahmedabad, Sir B.H. Ellis, was built in 1892, by the architect Himmatlala Dhirajram Bhachech, to replace an earlier wooden structure that was destroyed by floods in 1875. The new structure was created out of steel, imported from the British industrial centre of Birmingham.

Ironically, this Bridge, named after a British official, was where throngs of crowds gathered in 1930, to hear Mahatma Gandhi’s announcement of the historic Dandi March.

Today, this heritage structure is officially known as the Swami Vivekananda Bridge, and is still a major link between the older eastern settlement of Ahmedabad, and the newer, institutional western Ahmedabad.

The ornate and beautiful Hutheesing Jain temple was commissioned in 1848 by one of the most affluent Jain families of Ahmedabad- the Hutheesing Family. According to records, the temple was commissioned at a time of severe famine, to provide much-needed employment to hundreds of skilled artisans.

Dedicated to the 15th Jain Tirthankar Dharmanath, this two-storeyed temple is built in sandstone and adorned with woodwork, marble and mirror work. The main shrine, or the vimana, where the marble image of the Tirthankar is placed, is approached by a porch surmounted with a dome, while chhatris, or cupolas mark the other shrines within the complex.

In total, 238 stone images are arranged across this complex.

Interestingly, the temple was built with its own systems of water conservation- including a Persian Wheel, wells that are used exclusively for the temple and its rituals, and a rainwater harvesting system. A prominent feature of the complex is the manastambha - a pillar of honour that often identifies Jain temples inspired by a similar pillar at Chittor, in Rajasthan.

Also known as the Hauz-i-Qutub, the Kankaria lake was made in 1451 by Sultan Qutub-ud-din. It is said to have covered 76 acres with an island in the middle, known as the Nagina Bagh and a pleasure house known as Ghattamandal.

A supply sluice on the east of the Kankaria lake is exquisitely carved. At each end of the lake is a buttress that resembles the minarets of the Ahmedabad mosques of that period.

The kankaria lake is said to be one of the favourite resorts of rulers and travellers during the Mughal era. It also served as a campsite for various rulers during ongoing battles. Many legends are associated with its name. The popular lore goes that the lake is named after the large amount of limestone (kankar) that was taken out during its excavation. Another one says that Hazrat-i-Shah Alam cut his foot on a pebble while passing the excavation, thus the name kankaria (pebbly).

With the Kankaria lakefront development in 2009, the lake now contains an amusement park, a botanical garden and many such tourist attractions.

The Mata Bhavani Vav is one of Ahmedabad’s many stepwells. While it may look unassuming, especially when compared to the grand architecture of the walled city, this vav, attached to a shrine to the Goddess Bhavani, is one of the oldest structures of Ahmedabad, and perhaps the last remaining marker of the sites of Ashvaval and Karnavati, the 8th and 11th century settlements respectively, that preceded the walled city that Ahmed Shah named after himself.

This 11th-century stepwell is built in the traditional style. It has three-storeys, each with spaces for social gatherings, structured around a long flight of stairs that lead to a reservoir. While this stepwell is not especially ornate, it does have a few canopies, and carvings of lions and different deities from the Hindu pantheon.

Above all, it effectively performs its primary function- to store water collected during the monsoon months, for use in the dry months that the region of Gujarat braves for most of the year.

The walled city of Ahmedabad consists of nearly 600 neighbourhoods, known as pols.

Derived from the Sanskrit word pratol- or gate- the pols are gated complexes, and traditionally comprised fifty or sixty closely-packed houses, shops for daily needs, a place of worship, their own sources of water, and a single entryway, guarded by a sturdy gate.

This made them self-sufficient, and ready for periods of strife that might occur outside their walls.

In fact, it is said that the gates to many pols were removed by the British, in the aftermath of the events of 1857, thus stripping the pols of their security.

Many of the pols were inhabited by a single community, and are therefore associated with different professions and skills.

This pol, the Muharat pol, dates back to the 15th century and is the oldest of the pols of Ahmedabad.

The oldest temple of the Swaminarayan sect is in Ahmedabad.

The Swaminarayan sect was founded by Sahajanand Swami, a leader who sought to reform Hinduism with an emphasis on asceticism and humanitarianism. This opulent temple was built by his successor, and is one of Ahmedabad's most prominent landmarks.

The main focus on the temple is an octagonal dome, supported by twelve pillars. Within the temple, are idols of Lord Krishna and Radha. As part of the rituals of the temple, their clothes are changed seven times a day, and no outfit is repeated. The Swaminarayan temple was completed in 1850, a mere seven years before the events of 1857 unfolded across India. They seem to have left their mark on the Swaminarayan temple, as many of its pillars bear elaborately-carved depictions of the First War of Indian Independence.

Unlike other countries, India’s need for a stock market was not felt until the late nineteenth century. While the first Stock Exchange was established at Bombay in 1887, Ahmedabad’s growing trade and industry made it the second city on India’s map with a stock exchange. Known as the Ahmedabad Share and Stock Brokers’ Association, the building at Manek Chowk was once a bustling financial centre.

While most dealings were formerly done under a tree in an open maidan (ground), a building dedicated for such transactions in the nineteenth century. The quaint, two storied building that seems to have lost its power today, stands tall on one of the city’s busiest streets. Made of Dhrangadhra stone, with ornate windows and beautifully carved balconies, the building at Manek Chowk has been a witness to the growing industrialisation in India.

The city of Ahmedabad is dotted with a number of mosques and tombs, many of which date back many centuries. A few miles from the walled city of Ahmedabad is the revered tomb and mosque complex, Shah-e-Alam Roza. Also known as Rasulabad Dargah, this complex is named after the sufi mystic, Hazrat Sayyid Sirajuddin Muhuammad (later known as Shah-e-Alam).

Shah-e-Alam belonged to a popular family of sufi saints of the Suhrawardi order. He was the great grandson of the renowned saint, Makhdum-i-Jahaniyan and the son of Burhan-al-Din Qutab-i-Alam. His father’s tomb is situated a few miles from the complex, at Batuwa.

Shah-e-Alam was given a high status in the royal court and was entrusted with the responsibility of teaching the young princes. He died in the year 1457 during the reign of Mahmud Begada.

The Shah-e-Alam Roza is situated where the Saint once lived. Most structures within the complex were later additions which came up in the subsequent years. Out of these, the important structures are the Dargah, the Mosque and the Assembly Hall.

The structure situated at the centre of the complex is Shah-e-Alam’s tomb. After the death of the mystic, this tomb was erected by Taj Khan Narpali, a noble in Mahmud Begada’s court. The inner chamber of the tomb has screens with exquisite jali work with different designs and patterns. It is said that it took ten years to complete the dome.

The mosque was completed in phases. It was erected by Muhammad Badakshi and the construction of the minarets was begun by Nijabat Khan in the seventeenth century but completed by Saif Khan in 1620. It is said that the tank outside the mosque was constructed by Taj Khan Narpali’s wife.

The Assembly Hall or the Jamat Khaana is another revered structure in the complex. Though constructed during the reign of Muhammad Shah II, the assembly hall was restored and renovated twice, in the 16th and the 17th centuries. This hall was partly destroyed by the British during the Anglo Maratha War.

Over the years the character of the village of Sarkhej had transformed, from a place known for its indigo and weavers’ community to a land of mysticism and peace.

The Sarkhej Roza has gained popularity as the tomb of the saint, Shaikh Ahmad Khattu Ganj Bakhsh lies within the premises. Shaikh Ahmed Khattu Ganj was a close friend and advisor of Ahmed Shah I. He had also played an important role in the foundation of the city of Ahmedabad in 1411 AD. The early life of Shaikh Ahmed is not clear, however, there are legends that say he was born in Delhi but a few years later, lost his way in a dust storm. He was then found by Shaikh Abu Ishaq, near Nagaur, who introduced him to the world of sufism. Known for his teachings, the saint gained popularity among the Sultans of Ahmedabad and in the later years settled at the village of Sarkhej.

Sarkhej Roza, the popular tomb and mosque complex was built in phases. Once an oblong shaped complex, it included the two prime structures; the tomb of the Shaikh and the mosque. Later, during the reign of Mahmud Begada, the lake, the royal palace and the tombs of the members of the royal family were added, making it a large 72 acre complex. There are other smaller tombs within the complex, such as the tombs of noblemen and the famous Persian poet, Ghizhali Mash-hadi.

Today, this complex attracts visitors of various faiths, for it is not only a place where the great sufi saint once lived but also a space known for its beauty and serenity.

On the death of the saint in 1445 A.D, the then ruler, Muhammad Shah II ordered for the construction of a tomb at Sarkhej. It was completed only six years later, in 1451 by his son Sultan Qutub-ud-Din Shah. This tomb is the largest of its kind in the whole of Gujarat which explains the prominent position that the saint once held in the society.

Topped by a central dome and 13 smaller domes on all four sides, this tomb is known for its beautiful architecture. The blend of Hindu elements on an Islamic plan and structure, makes it one of the best examples of Indo Saracenic architecture. It is said that saint Khattu Ganj was deeply loved by the people of Sarkhej and in order to honour him, they dyed the ceiling of the dargah with indigo.

In the courtyard, the pillared structure in front of the Shaikh’s tomb is the Baradari. As one enters through the main gate of the complex, the first structure that catches the eye is this sixteen pillared pavilion. This structure is surmounted by a series of domes.

Close to the Shaikh’s tomb is the Mosque. The mosque built during the time of Muhammad Shah II, is one of the only two mosques in Ahmedabad without minarets. Unlike mosques of the later periods with beautiful arches, this mosque is extremely plain and simple. The mosque has pillared corridors and an open courtyard. From the southern side, one can see the tank that adds to the beauty of the complex.

During the reign of Mahmud Begada, this complex was used for leisure purposes, where the royal family often visited. Sultan Begada enlarged the complex by adding structures associated with royalty. This marked a shift in the character of the complex, from a religious complex to a space that is today associated with generations of the Gujarat Sultanate.

It was Mahmud Begada’s decision to dig a large tank within this complex. The tank is surrounded by cut stone steps, and on one side lies the palace and the harem. Once built for the royal family, the palace is today in ruins. However, the royal structures at Sarkhej give a glimpse into the royals’ lifestyle.

The sanctity of this complex can be understood from the fact that Mahmud Begada wished to be buried within the complex. Hence, he got tombs raised for himself and his family. Mehmud Begada, his wife Rajbi and his son Muzaffar II are buried in tombs opposite that of the saint.

In 1584 A.D, Sarkhej turned into a battlefield, when Emperor Akbar’s noble, Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana fought and defeated Muzaffar III, the last Sultan of Ahmedabad. To commemorate his victory, he erected the Fatehwadi (Garden of Victory). Though today nothing remains of this beautiful garden but travellers’ accounts give us an insight into what Fatehwadi must have looked like.

Albert de Mandelslo, a German traveller visited the garden in 1638 A.D and he wrote, “This is the biggest and the most beautiful garden. It is one of the many beautiful places in the world. There are fruit trees bearing oranges, pomegranates, dates, almonds, mulberry, tamarind, coconuts, citrons etc.”

Interestingly, Mughal Emperor Jahangir had also visited Fatehwadi and he was of the opinion that there was no garden like that of Fateh Bagh (wadi) in the whole of Gujarat.