EGYPT TRIP
Recently we have been to Egypt, the tour arranged by SOTC for total ten days.The tour was organized by SOTC in collaboration with KUNU travels. We would like to share our experiences of the tour. Egypt is a place I always wanted to visit and know about its historical background.Since the tour covered varios places in Egypt the coverage will be presented in phases.
The flight time from Mumbai to Cairo was approx. 6 hours. The flight left on time and was eventful and smooth. On arrival at Cairo airport we were received by SOTC representative Mr Vipul and Mr Mustafa a local travel representative. I could not resist my temptation of singing within myself Rehaman”s classic “Mustafa Mustafa Don’t worry Mustafa “. The guy was very friendly. We were escorted to Air conditioned coach along with other tourists of our group numbering total about 40 .
Cairo traffic is unmanageable as there appears to be no driving regulations on the streets.Traffic jams of duration three to four hours is very common. Although hotel “ Sofitel ‘ where we stayed is about 25 kilo meters from the airport it took us almost four hours to reach the hotel.New city of Cairo is quite modern where as old city is quite crowded and looks like typical of our old city of Hyderabad with narrow bylanes . We could see one of the palaces built in the shape of our North Indian style temple.it resembles almost like our temple of Konark.We were told that it is owned by a reputed car dealer of Egypt.
On arrival to hotel ,the day is free for us.The hotel was quite cosy and comfortable. We tried some vegetarian Egyptian Pizza for lunch in the hotel itself. Evening we were taken to an Indian restaurant “The Temple” which is shaped like a boat and stationed on the shore of Nile river. The food was good.
A beautiful and interesting 3 hour journey across the desert brought us to near Suez canal next day. We could see the ships sailing through the canal. Thirty percent of the Egypt revenue is from Suez canal.The canal is 15 meters in depth, 65 meters in width and 165 KM long.We crossed the canal,the whole bus carried over a Ferry. After lunch in a local restaurant we returned back to hotel and in the evening we went to see “SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW” at Pyramids of Giza.
The light and Sound show at the Pyramids was amazing ,and the lights were spectacular.The sphinx ( The head of human and lion”s body ) and the Pyramids get lighted up and the Sphinx acts as the narrator.Since the show was in the evening we thought it will be too chilly and had to purchase some warm clothing,but it was not too cold. The climate was moderate.As we got seated the awesome mighty Sphinx was so close to us and the Pyramids were behind the Spynx. The entire Sound and Light show was captured by Vedio camera. Over all the show was quite exciting and interesting.
We returned back to hotel around 10.P.M .
Next day the programme was full day tour of Cairo. First we went to visit the great Pyramid of “Khufu ‘. One of the seven wonders of the world.The others are The pyramid of “Khafre” the Pyramid of“ Menkaure” and “Sphinx”, The pyramid of “ Khufru” is the oldest and the largest of the three Pyramids and is only remaining member of the seven wonders of ancient world. I was awestuck to look at the pyramid which is built over 3800 years ago as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh “Khufu” and constructed over 20 year period concluding around 2560 B.C . The pyramid is built up with lime stone varying weight each from 0.6 tons to 6 tons. There have been varying scientific and alternative theories regarding the great Pyramids construction techniques. Most accepted theories are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones from a quary and dragging and lifting them in place.A recent theory proposes that the building blocks were manufactured in place from a kind of lime stone concrete.There are also disagreements as to the kind of work force that was used.One theory suggests that slaves were forced to work until the pyramid was done.This was not accepted as they claim that there was no slavery during that period and the Pyramids were built by about 20000 skilled workers with accompanying support staff of bakers,preists and Physitians who camped near the Pyaramidsa nd worked for a salary.The construction was particularly brisk when the neighboring area was flooded with Nile river water and the peasants were provided this work for their livelihood and survival.
There is a small passage with narrow steps to go below to the centre of the pyramid where the Tomb was placed.Our guide Mr Mandu advised to those who are sufeering from Asthma or with breathing problems not to Venture. I along with few of our group went deep inside where the main tomb was lying.It was amazing to find the chamber about 18 meters down.The chamber is about 5m by 10 m by6m. The chamber is hallowed out of a single piece of Granite. Although you feel a bit suffocation while descending but it is tolerable.The chamber is quite airy and of amazing view.
The most astonishing part is we can not help but be awed by the great age,grand scale,and harmonic mathemetics of the Pyramids of Giza.The great pyramid is made of 2.3 million stone blocks weighing upto 6.0 tonseach.The pyramid original height was 479 feet and was also the tallest structure in the world for thousands of years until it was surpassed by the “Lincoln Cathedral” around 1300A.D. The second largest Pyramid of Giza was built by “Khafre” son of “Khufu” which is almost as vast as the Pyramid of his father.The third Pyramid of “ Menkaure’ is built for “Menkaure’ son of “Khafre’ which measures 356 feet height.
The Pyramids have impressively withstood the ravages of time but not of grave robbers.They emptied the pyramids of their valuables in ancient times.
In a depression to the south of “Khafre” Pyramid sits a huge creature with head of Human and a lion”s body.This monument statue is popularly known as “sphinx”. The great Sphinx is really gigantic and believed to be the most immense stone structure ever made by Man.The monument of the Sphinx is the lime stone bad rock.It faces the rising Sun with a temple to the front which resembles the Sun temple.The lion was a solar symbol and the royal human head on a lion”s body symbolized power and might controlled by the intelligenceof the Pharaoh.
The body of Sphinx is 72 meters length,20 meters tall.The face of the Sphinx is 4 meters wideand its eyes are2 meters high.The mouth is 2.0 meters wide and nose about 1.5 meter long.The nose,the lower ear,and the ritual beard are now missing,while the eyes have been pecked out.
Every body was keen to take photo with Sphinx as background. In and around the area you find people selling sovereigns of Egypt .Lot of bargaing we have to do to arrive reasonable price.They quote almost 2 to 3 times higher.
We had group photo with all the group members joining together.
After the visit of Pyramids of Giza we proceeded Papyrus paints show room .Papyrus is reed that grows in fresh water marshes along the river Nile.Our English word “Paper” is derived from Papyrus an Egyptian word.When the Egyptians moved from pre-history to to History by developing a written language they discovered the need for a medium other than stone to transcribe upon.They found this in their Papyrus plant.The papyrus sheets are produced from the strips of Papyrus plant. This reminds us our own “ Thataku Patralu” on which our ancient scriptures were written .
We visited the papyrus show room where variety of paintings etched on Papyrus were depicted.The price range is from 50 egyptin pounds to1000 egyptian pounds. Each Egyptian pound is about Rs 7.5.We purchased a small painting priced around 70 E.P. The same type of paintings are available in the outside Bazaar of Egypt for 2 to 3 E.P, but we were told that they are not genuine and not the Papyrus but made from plantain leaves.
The next stop was Egyptian Musuem.
Egyptian museum is daunting in the shear number of its antiquies on show.Although it requires atleast a day to spend we were allotted about 2 hours.The museum ground floor follows the history of ancient Egypt , you findmany small master piecesof sculpture which are almost 5000 years old.They depict individuals,families and people at work from the old Kingdom.Upstairs on the first floor are thousands of smaller items from the span of Egyptian history.Almost two floors of upper floor area occupy treasures from Tuten khamen:s tomb,chariots,graves,jewelleryetc.Many of the antiques from his tomb are displayed here.His coffins are on display along with stunningJeweelery to the tune of 110 Kgs of solid gold. The Tutenkhamen has died at a very young age after ruling Egypt and hid cause of death is still a mystery.
Apart from Tutenkhamen”s exhibits upstairs ther are countless coffins and Mummy”s room.The ticket for entering Mumm’s room is around 100 E.P which is not included in the museum ticket. I am one of the Very few who visited the Mummy”s room from our group. You come across Mummies still as Human figures almost seem alive,some of them were great rulers of Egypt.Mummification is another mysterious thing which Egyptians adopted about 5000yearsago.
After lunch at local restaurant “Sahara” we went to “Khan-el-Khalil ‘ bazaar. The bazaar is very famous in Cairo, but it was too crowded.we could not spend much time there as shop keepers are literally pouncing on you to sell their products.The bargain is too high with that you will never know what is their reasonable price.
One thing what we observed is :Amitab bachan “ is very popular in entire Egypt.Wherever they see us in Bazaar they shouted “ Amitab bachan’ India.Very few know any othe personality from India other than Amtab Bachan. Although Indian films are not exhibited in Egypt ,Indian films particularly Amitab Bachan”s are very popular due to pirated CD”s perhaps.
From bazaar we went straight to Cairo Railway station to catch overnight train to “Aswan” which is around 600 k.meters from Cairo. Caro station is awful much worst than our Railway stations.Surroundings are untidy and the train compartments appear to be very old., with external paint almost worn out.Interiors are of course much better in our first class A.C .The individual “Cupes” are quite good. The train journey was smooth but the train got delayed and we reached “Aswan” around 11.AM instead of original scheduled time of 7 AM.
We straight away went to “JewelNile” cruise liner from the station.”Jewel of Nile “ is quite good with comfortable rooms.Upper deck with a small swimming pool.The dining hall, bar are quite spacious. This was our fourth day of our tour.
One plus point of this group tour is we make friends in a very short time. This was the case even when we went on Europe Tour In the year 2006. In this tour we have come closer to few of the families who are very freindly
I must mention here Bhag chand Misras family from Canada,Vinod panekar Family from Mumbai,Yashpal singh family from Delhi with whom we had closer interaction. Mr yashpal singhji is a Retired Geography professor and his time to time briefing about geographical details of the places was very helpful. Professor has got good collection of “National geography” magazines .Although Proffesor “s knowledge of English is exrtremely good ,he always preffered to talk in Hindi.
Satish aggarwal a retired DIG of police from Bhopal is avery good singer of Old Hindi Film songs . Mrs Aggarwal is also a good singer.We had the fortune of listening to them during our lengthy Bus travel. Aggarwal ji”s jokes were quite hilarious.
We along with Vinod Panekar family and Misharajis family were in one group during our stay at cruise and we enjoyed their company immensely. Most of the time we traveled together.
After taking rest for a while we went to see the Unfinished “Obelisk” in the afternoon..Originally as per the programme visit to Aswan dam was planned.Since we arrived Aswan four hours late visit to Aswan dam was postponed to next day.
An “Obelisk” is atall narrow four sided tapering monument which ends in a Pyramidal top.Ancient Obelisks were made of a single piece of stone.Obelisks were promoinent part of the Architecture of the ancient Egyptians who placed them in pairs at the entrance of temples The Obelisk symbolized the Sun god “Ra”.Twenty eight ancient Egyptian Obelisks are known to have survived.This un finished “Obelisk”found partly hewn fromits quarry at Aswan wasnever detached from the rock as it developed cracks in places..The Obelisk should be perfect with no flaws and cracks.ancient Egyptians used to discard the “Obelisk’ in case it develops cracks while shaping itat it.
Later we proceeded to see a demonstration of scented oils used to make perfumes at Perfumery.Members of our groupwere daubed with several different fragrancies from intricately made glass bottles which we were told go into some of the world”s most famous perfumes.After accepting a welcome drink of cold “Kakad’ ( A refreshing drink made from HAbuskus flower) the visitor is some how made to feel ungrateful if no money changes hands .Finally most of our group did not venture to buy any of these as the perfumes are quite expensive.
We returned back to cruise straight from Perfumery.
Next day our programme was to visit temple of “AbuSimbel”.VISIT TO Abu simbel is along with convoy of armed guards. We started early morning 4 am from our cruise following the convoy.All the tourist busesshouldfollow this schedule.. Egyptian government has imposed this due to Security regulations after the unfortunate incidence in 1997 when 57 touriste wwre shot deed by terrorists near the temple of queen “Hatshepsut” .Further the temple of Busimbel is on the border of Sudan which is a politically disturbed area.
Our Egyptian guide Mr Mandu has given brief historical background of the temple on arriving there. The temple is on the bank of “Lake Nasser’ .The Nubians callitas :The Nubian Sea”while the rest of WEgypt named it “lake Nasser”.In 1960 The Nasser governmentbuilt the high damacross the Nile and the warer flooded the Nubian Desert area in upper Egypt to create 300 mile long inland area. About 40 Nubian villages and towns and forty thousand Nubians had to be rehoused as their homes vanished beneath the rising waters.But it was not just the Nubian people who were in danger of being submerged but many of the ancient Nubian monuments south of Aswan including the famous and imposing 3000year old temples and statues of Ramasee !! at AbuSimbel.
An international team of engineers from all over the world under the backing from UNESCO laboured for almost 5 years to salvage these massive ancient temples and move them just 65 meters up a cliff block by block and rebuild themaiming to make them appear as if they had never beendisturbed.
Abu Simbel has two magnificient temples.The temple of Ramasee 2 and the temple of “Nefartare” .The façade of main temple is 108 feet high and 125 feet widthwith four colossal seated statues about 65 feet high wearing the double crown and having thecartouches of Ramasse 2. Each set on a pedestal and it is impossible not to be moved by their shear size,the fact they hadoriginally bean cut inti rock 3000years agoand had been built in the Middle of nowhere.It was also intriguing to recall that Abu simbel had nearly become a legend as it had been almost entirely buried by sand for many centuries and was rediscovered only in 1813.
Standing in front of the temples with the blue waters of the lake Nasser tapping the shores you can not help but wonderat it.
The entrance leads to a grand hallwhich is 57 feet high 52 feet wideand was cut from the rock.It is supported with eight pillarswith statues of Ramasee 2.The head and Torse of the statue to the left of entrance fell during ancient times probably due to earth quqke.
By the side of this main temple a second smaller temple is situated dedicated by the Ramsee 2 to his beloved wife queen “Nefertari’
The alignment of main temple is such that twice a year on Febraury 21St and October 21st the rays of therising Sun shine directly through the entrance door way of the templeand illuminate the statues.Was the temple deliberately positionedfor this to happenon these dates? Are these dates significient to Ramsee 2? Or is the purely fanciful wishing?.
After visit of abu simbel we returned back to cruise.On the way back we visited Aswan Dam.Originall first the dam was built in 1902. But this design was soon found to be in adequate and subsequently the height of dam was raised.When it was over flowed in 1946 it was decided to build second dam 6 k.meters up river.The soviets have built the dam and completed in 1970.During construction when reservoir began filling ,34 major monuments were moved to safer locations and Abu Simbel temple is one of them.
The aswan dam is 3830 meters in length 980 meters in width and 111 meters tall.The dam has flooded much of lower Nubia and over 90000 people were displaced.
At all counts the dam is gigantic.
Immedietly after reaching cruise every body rushed to replenish their mineral drinking water.
The day one when we landed Cairo our guide advised us not to drink the tap water of cairo and only purchase mineral water bottles as the tap water is not suitable for the visitors. Hence time to time we were on to this exercise of purchasing these bottles. In some places our guide managed to negotiate with shop keepers to supply this each for 2 E.P compared to the price range of 3to 5 E.P’ in the open market.
In restau rants it is strictly prohibited to carry mineral water from out side and you have to buy water from restaurant itself which will cost you anywhere between 7 to 13 E.P per bottle.
After lunch at cruise and resting for a while we went to visit temple of “ Kom Ombo” over looking the Nile.This unique temple is in fact the fusion of two temples set side by side with each side havingits own gateways and Chappels.The left side of the temple is dedicated to “ haroeris’ ,the falcon headed God, the right part of the temple is dedicated to “Sobek” the crocodile headed God and God of fertility.’.Earliar egyptians used to worship “sobek” ,the crocodile headed God and they have even mummified the crocodiles.You find Mummies of crocodiles here.The temples are damaged partiallyand still a stair case leads from the centre room to the terrace above.These chapels are depicted with whole series of Surgeon”s instruments,confirming once again the high degreeof skillachieved in the field of medicine.
We returnedback to the cruise after visiting the temple.
Next day our cruise sailed to town of “Edfu” and after early break fast we went to visit the temple of “Edfu”
Of all the temples of ancient Egypt the one at Edfu is not only the best preserved but second largest after “Karnak’ temple.The huge temple was constructedover the site of smaller earliar temple..Little is known about the first temple but ther is inscriptional evidence that this is built by Ramasee 2 and Ramasee3.Only the ruined remains are there of the first temple. The second temple which survives today is built by Ptolemy 3 starting 237B>C and completed only by57 B.C.The templeis carved with figures of Ptolemy kings offering things to various deities. Carvings on the massive twin towers of 36 meters high entrancePylon are almost mirror images of each other with the taditional scenes of the Kingfighting with enemies.Two statues of the “Horus’, Falcon stand before the main gate way..The carvings on the walls of “Edfu” temple is now considered by Egyptians to be a vast and highly important source of knowledge of temple rituals and Egyptian history.
The temple had been totally submerged under the desert except for the very top of of the pylon entrance.A small amount of stone had been removed from the exposed part but when excavated it was found to be a near perfect condition.
From the temple of Edfu we went on to the west bank of Nile to reach “Valley of Kings”.West bank was called as “Thebes” by the ancient Greeks.This is the place where generations of Pharoes nad nobles were buried in great splendour housed in crypts cut into the cliff. Ther are 75 tombs in the valley of kings.all the tombs have been discovered by chance up to now..How many there are in all no body knows.Why so many tombs at one place?. We have been told that the Pyramids near Cairo were built much earliar.Late the Phoroes discovered that some of the hills near “Thebes” had the shape of Pyramids and decided to get buried there.They thought that the tombs could be hidden and would not be discovered and robbed.
To day it appears to us very foolish about the idea of second life and all that but during those days The day a Pharoah was crowned work on his tomb was begun.Assuming that life in the hereafter would be longer than in the here tremendous effort went into preparation of after life. We could visit 3 of the many tombs.The tombs are approx.5 maters high and 3 meters wide’The drawings and reliefs on the walls show the Pharoes in question the gods he believed,in and worshipped.The pictures on the wall describe his life and heroic deeds.I wonder seeing the architectural achievements as work of art and admire the craftsmanship.Imaagine a worker 3500 years ago sitting on a scaffold with chisel and hammer and ready to tell what people imagined.Even afterover 3500 yearsthe paintings ratain theiroriginal coloursand tell thethe story of civilizationgone by.
Near by we find tomb of king “Tutenkhamen” the only one ever discovered in tact which contains gold sarcophagi.The tomb is quite small.compared to the other tombs.We could not go into the tomb as there is nothing there..all the “tutenkhamen”s finds are in the Musuem of Cairo.
On our return we visited the temple of queen “Hatshepsut”.the only woman Pharo to have ruledruled Egypt.3500 year old partly carved into the lime stone cliff the temple itself and the surrounding hill side have a yellow brown colour.
Near by there are armed soldiers every where.We were told that there was terrorist attack in 19997 near the temple in which 57 tourists from different countries and three Egyptians were shot deed..Now the things aremuch safer with armed guards al over tourist places in Egypt.
The next stop was at the two collssi of Memmonon which look as if they guard the entrance of the valley of Kings.Ancient Greek travelers believed the statues resembled their God of the Dawn “Memmonon’.At Sun rise the northern statue would emit a haunting musical sound.according to Greek it was “Memmonon’ greeting his mother.actually the phenomenon was produced by the early morning change in temperature and wind blowing through the hollow inside portions of statue.After Roman governor repaired the statue in 2 A.D, the voice was never heard again.
On our way back we visited The “Alabaster factory’ and saw the craftsman working with the material. Variety of show pieces made of Alabaster stone are displayed in the adjoining hall for sale.
After lunch in the after noon we went to visit the temple of “Karnak” situated on the east bank of “Luxor’.The temple of “karnak’ iscity of temples builtover2000years and dedicated to the Egyptian Gods “Amon,”Mut and >Khansu”.The temple is the largest ever madeand a place of pilgrimagefor nearly 4000 years.it covers about 200 act\res.The area of the enclosure of ‘Amun’ alone is 60 acresThere is a very big halland there are 134 huge columns.The temple was built during middle kingdom.The construction of the templecomplex went for 900 years with each Pharoow leaving a new temple,shrineor Pylon.
The key difference between Karnak and most of the other temples is the length of time over which it was built and used.About 30 Pharows contributed to the buildingenabling it ti reach a sizenot seen elsewhere.
You find two “obelisks” out of which one is about 22 meter high and standing in perfect condition.
Karnak has a sacred lake,its water once usedby the temple priests for ritual cleaning.
We returned back to the cruise after visiting the temple.
This was the last night on the crise. The ocation was celebrated on the deck with dancing,singing Arabian songs and games.Apart from cruise staff few from our group participated in dancing.
After 3 nights of stay at cruise we started our journey toHurghadafrom Luxor.Started in the afternoon from Luxor we reached Hurghada in the nihgt.We were all accommodated in the famous international hotel “Hilton Resorts”.The hotel was excellent.
Hurghada is a lovely holiday resort.it is about 400 k.meters from Luxor.Coral reefs,and tranquil water made hurghada on Egypt:s Red sea coast ,a busy resort. I was surprised to know that just 20 years back the whole place was a small fishing village ,is now one of the up and coming tourist resorts.
The next day SOTC has arranged Submarine cruise.We were transported from hotel by A.C busto the Pier.From the Pier we were taken by small motorized boat to the “Sindbad “ Submarine.The submarine seats 44 people and 2 pilots and has windows specially constructedto maximize your under water vieving.we were there approximately for 1 hour under water to enjoy the view of the under water world at a depthof 72 feet below the Sea surface.There is a narrow ladder space to climb down from the boat..although the place appears to be crammedat first sight,but it is quite comfortable.
We could see the variety of fishes dauging around Submarine. One disappointment is the coral remains out here are so run down that there is virtuallynothing to see.
We returned hotel . in the afternoon we went for shopping to main city of Hurghada.Amongst the typiacal soveniers ,the imprassive one was the deseraat sceneries etched in the sand embedded in small glass bottles.We purchased few of thesewhich costs each small one about 3 to 4 E.P.The other soveniers are typical Alladin Lamps,and Hukka. We were told most of the Egyptiaans past time is to spend in a small restaurant enjoying a cup of Tea with Hukka. The consumption of alcohol in Egypt is strictly prohibited except in Star hotels.
In the evening we went to see “Light and Sound show of “AbuSimbel” and other temples of “Luxor. Followed by local Egyptian dances and “Belly dance’show.The “Belly dance show was not upto the mark and there was only one girl who performed for about 20 minutes. This part of the programme was not included in the tour programme and we had to pay extra for the same.
The next day we were on our way back to Cairo.Because of Traffic jams we were delayed to reach Cairo.We had dinner at the Indian restaurant “Karving’ .The food was excellent.The restaurant owner is an Indian who is settled in Cairo.
This time in Cairo we stayed over night hotel”Intercontinental Pyramid Resorts. The hotel is quite good.
The next day morning we were off to ‘Alexandria” .We reached Alexandria in the afternoon. Local guide Miss Shara has accompanied us .
Despite its amazing historyther is almost nothing left of ancient Alexandria.The Egyptians callthe ‘ alexandria’As “pearl of ‘Meditorian’.Alexandria is basically long and thin stretching for milesalong the coast of ‘MeditorianSea in both directiosfrom the city centre.
The main attractions of “Alexandria are “Catacombs’.The fort,the library and ismail pasha Palace.The history of Alexandria says that Alexandr the great om whose name the city was named has asked Greek architect to build city around 332 B.C on the site of an old villagecalled “rakotis’.The city quickly flourished as a prominentmetropolis hosting the light house of “Alexandria’ ,one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the “bibliathia Alexandria” a famous learning centre that hosted the biggest book collection in ancient times.Notable residents include “Cleopatra’,Julios Ceaser”,Mark antonym and”Euclid”.
One of the best known ancient monument is “Pampey’s pillar.It is still standing on Alexandria’s ancientacropus.It is 100 feet tall including its pedestalwith red granite shaft..Just near the pillar are the “catacombs’which we have visited prior to visiting the Pampey”spillar. Miss Shara briefed the historical back ground the Catacombs which comprise of threelevels cut into the existingrock accessableby a large spiral stair case.There are several chambers decorated withsculpted pillars,statues and other Roman,Egyptian religeios symbols.there is also a roman style banquet roomthat held memorial meals hosted by relatives of the deceased.
Next we went to seethe Musuem of Alexandria..This Musuem is home to mmany collections of rareGreek andRoman relics and coins.They are ranging from 300B.C to the 700A.D,
The famous light house of “alexandriabuilt around300B.Cwas destroyed due to earth quake in 1303 and 1323There are ancient claims that the light from the light house could be seen fromupto 35 milesaway. Presently fort Quit bay is there at the site ofLight housewhich was built in the 15Th century usingsome of itsfallen masomary.The fort is quite imprsssive.The visitors are not permitted inside or the top of theroof.
The other notable places we visited are “Alexandria libraryand Ismail pasha palacewhich is known as “Muntaza Palace” .Part of palace is converted into a 5star hotel where we were accomdated.
The royal library of Alexandria was once the largest library in the world.It is generally thought to have been founded at the brginning of the 3rd centuryB.C ,durngthe reign of “Ptolemy 2 of Egypt.The old library was destroyed by fire and the new library was inaugratedin 2003 near the site of old library.The new library building is marvelous in Architecture.We could not visit the library from inside.
Montaza royal palace was one of the palaces of the former Egyptian Royal familiespart of which is converted into hotel “HelnenPalestine hotel’.The hotel is grand spread over larger area surrounded by beautiful gadens.
Visit of Alexandria was our last leg of our tour. From hotel we straight away drove to Cairo Airport to out flight back home.It was time to say good bye to the new friends with a promise to be in touch with mails.
“ Shhookran ‘ for reading.( Thanks for reading)
A.Murali
Concluded.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
BALIKA TIRTHA ,SOMNATH, GIR , JUNAGAD .& GONDAL
BALIKA TIRTHA.
Balika tirtha is constructed on the site where lord Krishna is said to have been mistakenly shot in the foot. Nearby is ‘Dehotsang “where he succumbed to his mortal wound. There is a Tulasi tree planted in Lord Krishna’s memory. The idol inside the temple is of Krishna with the foot wounded and a Boya bowing to Lord.
By the side of temple there is a two storey building which is constructed by Brahmakumari”s organization. It houses an exhibition with beautiful sculptures depicting the Vedic culture of Hinduism. Adjacent to this there is a big Shiva Lingam about 20 feet height.
Nearby we visited a place named as “Baldev gufa’.According to legend Lord Krishna “s elder brother Balarama disappeared through this cave and went back to Swarga as he was considered to be incarnation of Sheshnag (Serpent God) .
SOMNATH. ,
We reached Somnath around 7 P.M. and after checking in hotel ,we proceeded straight away to ‘ Somnath Mahaadev Temple ‘for Harathi Darshan,which is scheduled at 8 P.M .Unlike Dwaraka at Somnath the crowd is well disciplined and things are well organized. The Harathi Darshan was witnessed by all in a very orderly manner.
Somnath Temple is the, biggest among all the 12 Jyothirlingas. The temple complex is very big spread over few square k.meters.The security checks are elaborate. Cameras etc are not allowed in the temple premises. We could not take any photos of lord and the Temple Because of tight Security. Rules.
The Legend says that the principal temple has been built in gold by the Moon God “Soma”, in silver by Sun God “Ravi”, in wood by Lord Krishna. The temple in stone was constructed in the 11 Th century by Solanki Rajpuths.As History goes series of invasions occurred in the temple attracted of its riches. The present temple is constructed in the year 1951.
The temple is on the coast of Arabian Sea, its Shikhara nearly 50 meters tall presents a breath taking view. The temple’s imposing architecture included intricate carvings, impressive Nandi idol and the central Shiva Linga.In and around temple you find vast open places.
An exhibition of sculptures of Shiva, Parvathi and episodes from Shiva purana are depicted on the east side of the temple. The history of the Somanath temple from 11th century to the present is separately presented in a exhibition hall..
GIR SANCTUARY.
Next day we started from Somnath to Gir Sanctuary and reached Gir around 11 A.M.Gir is only the place outside Africa with wild Lions in its natural habitat. To enter the Gir Sanctuary one has to take permit. The permit charges are Rs 400 with Rs 100 charged for Camera. You are allowed to go either in your own vehicle or you can hire a vehicle with guide. The hiring charges are Rs 700 for maximum of six people. There are two trips one in the morning and one in the evening. Each trip is of duration approximately 3 to 4 hours and covers wide area of the forest. Surprisingly you will be traveling in open vehicle. We are told that Lion is a royal animal and it will not hurt human beings unless it is provoked. Only the instruction was that we should not get down from the vehicle.
We were there for three hours in the Jungle but we could not site the royal animal. There are 350 lions in the area of 1200 sq.k.meters of forest..Siting a lion is pure luck, but we could see deers, peacocks, Wild boars, Monkeys and variety of birds. It is thrilling experience to drive-in the forest mingling with the nature. There is a lake in the Sanctuary with full of crocodiles. You can just see them on the surface of water. We are told that there are 500 crocodiles in the lake.
The Gir forest resort where we stayed is quite cozy and comfortable.
Next day morning we are on the way to Junagad.
JUNAGAD.
Oldest part of Junagad (About 2300 years old) is “Upparkot Fort’. This fort was originally built by the Hindu Kings .The walls of fort are upto 20 meters height at certain places. There is also 300 feet deep Trench inside the walls used to be inhabited by crocodiles so as to protect from the invaders.
Just outside the entrance are the temples of Ganesh, Hanuman, and Shakthi.There is only one entrance. Entry and exit is only through this entrance.Closeby are there two cannons named as “Neelam ‘and ‘Mareck’.
Inside the fort there are two Step wells very deep; one is “Navghav Kuwa’ which is built in 11th century and the other “Adikadi Kuwa’ built in 15th century.
The local people say that when well (Adi Kadi kuwa) was excavated down into the hard stone no water was found. Two unmarried girls were sacrificed on the advice of royal priest. They say after the sacrifice the water was found. The well was named against their named “Adi’ and “Kadi’. Superstitions were prevailing those days which are unfortunately still there in some parts of the country. Apart from these wells Buddhist caves of 2500 years old are there around “Upper khot’. This fort is converted by Muslim rulers into grave yard later
Another historical place and mythologically famous is Mount Girnar.The highest point in Gujarat, Mount Girnar is a hillock with 866 Hindu and Jain temples.A hike up the mountain needs about 6 hours in one way with 10000 steps. The steps begin near Damodar Kund, a sacred small lake. The saint Bhagath Narsingh Mehta, a 15th century Saint’s temple is by the side of the Damodar kund.At the top of the temple we are told there is a Kalika temple. Trekking Girnar is really adventurous considering 10000 steps. Fair amount of pilgrims undertake trekking to have darshan of gods. As per the “Stala purana’, in those days mountains used to have wings and these winged mountains used to create anarchy. Hence Indra started cutting the wings of these Giris with his Vajrayudha.To escape from the anger of Indra Mount Girnar hid himself in the sea. Mount Girnar happens to be the brother of Parvathi a search was undertaken to find him.Atlast they found him in the sea. Parvathi got angry with the Sea and asked the sea to go further down by few Yojanas so that Mount Girnar can come out. Sea obliged. Mount Girnar settled there .Parvathi was angry with Indra and asked all the devatas including Indra to reside on the Mount Girnar.Hence it acquired such importance and they say all sins will be wiped out if you have darshan of Mount Girnar once in your life time..
The significant part of Junagad’s heritage spots are the stone edicts of Emperor Asoka found on the road towards Mt Girnar.These edicts are precepts of speaking in moral and ethical terms. The edict is in the language of’”Pali”.Ashoka when converted into Buddhism had edicts carved in stone and placed in sites all over across India (Ranging from Kandahar in West, Bangladesh East , Andhra Pradesh in South and in Junagad )
Another Heritage centre is “’Mahabath maqbara”which is built in over the grave of Nawab Mahabbath Khan. Its architecture mixes Hindu, Muslim and European influences.
Junagad Museum, and Durbar hall Museum are two famous Museums in Junagad.We could not see these Museums as they are closed down on Wednesday and we happened to be there on Wednesday.
.
GONDAL
Next day we are on the way back to Ahmadabad. On the way back we halted at Gondal and went round the palace and museums.
Gondal is known for its palace, vintage car Museum and Swaminarayan Temple.. The riverside palace commissioned in 1875 by Bhagwath Singh is now a heritage hotel..Gondal is ruled by a family of car enthusiasts whose royal passion resulted in a fine collection of automobiles which are now part of Museum in the palace premises.
An old well decorated Railway coach is also part of the museum. The railway coach is converted into hotel room with bed room, drawing room, dining hall, and bar. Similar to present “Palace on wheels.’. The visitors are allowed to see the museum and Palace.The entry ticket per head is Rs 60 for Vintage car Museum and Rs 20 for Railway coach and Rs 10 for the palace.
Swaminarayan temple at Gondal is an imposing structure spread over large area. During our visit it was closed for renovation work.
We reached Ahmadabad around 7 P.M.After spending further a day at Ahmadabad We returned back after 10 days of interesting and exciting tour.
“The End’
BALIKA TIRTHA.
Balika tirtha is constructed on the site where lord Krishna is said to have been mistakenly shot in the foot. Nearby is ‘Dehotsang “where he succumbed to his mortal wound. There is a Tulasi tree planted in Lord Krishna’s memory. The idol inside the temple is of Krishna with the foot wounded and a Boya bowing to Lord.
By the side of temple there is a two storey building which is constructed by Brahmakumari”s organization. It houses an exhibition with beautiful sculptures depicting the Vedic culture of Hinduism. Adjacent to this there is a big Shiva Lingam about 20 feet height.
Nearby we visited a place named as “Baldev gufa’.According to legend Lord Krishna “s elder brother Balarama disappeared through this cave and went back to Swarga as he was considered to be incarnation of Sheshnag (Serpent God) .
SOMNATH. ,
We reached Somnath around 7 P.M. and after checking in hotel ,we proceeded straight away to ‘ Somnath Mahaadev Temple ‘for Harathi Darshan,which is scheduled at 8 P.M .Unlike Dwaraka at Somnath the crowd is well disciplined and things are well organized. The Harathi Darshan was witnessed by all in a very orderly manner.
Somnath Temple is the, biggest among all the 12 Jyothirlingas. The temple complex is very big spread over few square k.meters.The security checks are elaborate. Cameras etc are not allowed in the temple premises. We could not take any photos of lord and the Temple Because of tight Security. Rules.
The Legend says that the principal temple has been built in gold by the Moon God “Soma”, in silver by Sun God “Ravi”, in wood by Lord Krishna. The temple in stone was constructed in the 11 Th century by Solanki Rajpuths.As History goes series of invasions occurred in the temple attracted of its riches. The present temple is constructed in the year 1951.
The temple is on the coast of Arabian Sea, its Shikhara nearly 50 meters tall presents a breath taking view. The temple’s imposing architecture included intricate carvings, impressive Nandi idol and the central Shiva Linga.In and around temple you find vast open places.
An exhibition of sculptures of Shiva, Parvathi and episodes from Shiva purana are depicted on the east side of the temple. The history of the Somanath temple from 11th century to the present is separately presented in a exhibition hall..
GIR SANCTUARY.
Next day we started from Somnath to Gir Sanctuary and reached Gir around 11 A.M.Gir is only the place outside Africa with wild Lions in its natural habitat. To enter the Gir Sanctuary one has to take permit. The permit charges are Rs 400 with Rs 100 charged for Camera. You are allowed to go either in your own vehicle or you can hire a vehicle with guide. The hiring charges are Rs 700 for maximum of six people. There are two trips one in the morning and one in the evening. Each trip is of duration approximately 3 to 4 hours and covers wide area of the forest. Surprisingly you will be traveling in open vehicle. We are told that Lion is a royal animal and it will not hurt human beings unless it is provoked. Only the instruction was that we should not get down from the vehicle.
We were there for three hours in the Jungle but we could not site the royal animal. There are 350 lions in the area of 1200 sq.k.meters of forest..Siting a lion is pure luck, but we could see deers, peacocks, Wild boars, Monkeys and variety of birds. It is thrilling experience to drive-in the forest mingling with the nature. There is a lake in the Sanctuary with full of crocodiles. You can just see them on the surface of water. We are told that there are 500 crocodiles in the lake.
The Gir forest resort where we stayed is quite cozy and comfortable.
Next day morning we are on the way to Junagad.
JUNAGAD.
Oldest part of Junagad (About 2300 years old) is “Upparkot Fort’. This fort was originally built by the Hindu Kings .The walls of fort are upto 20 meters height at certain places. There is also 300 feet deep Trench inside the walls used to be inhabited by crocodiles so as to protect from the invaders.
Just outside the entrance are the temples of Ganesh, Hanuman, and Shakthi.There is only one entrance. Entry and exit is only through this entrance.Closeby are there two cannons named as “Neelam ‘and ‘Mareck’.
Inside the fort there are two Step wells very deep; one is “Navghav Kuwa’ which is built in 11th century and the other “Adikadi Kuwa’ built in 15th century.
The local people say that when well (Adi Kadi kuwa) was excavated down into the hard stone no water was found. Two unmarried girls were sacrificed on the advice of royal priest. They say after the sacrifice the water was found. The well was named against their named “Adi’ and “Kadi’. Superstitions were prevailing those days which are unfortunately still there in some parts of the country. Apart from these wells Buddhist caves of 2500 years old are there around “Upper khot’. This fort is converted by Muslim rulers into grave yard later
Another historical place and mythologically famous is Mount Girnar.The highest point in Gujarat, Mount Girnar is a hillock with 866 Hindu and Jain temples.A hike up the mountain needs about 6 hours in one way with 10000 steps. The steps begin near Damodar Kund, a sacred small lake. The saint Bhagath Narsingh Mehta, a 15th century Saint’s temple is by the side of the Damodar kund.At the top of the temple we are told there is a Kalika temple. Trekking Girnar is really adventurous considering 10000 steps. Fair amount of pilgrims undertake trekking to have darshan of gods. As per the “Stala purana’, in those days mountains used to have wings and these winged mountains used to create anarchy. Hence Indra started cutting the wings of these Giris with his Vajrayudha.To escape from the anger of Indra Mount Girnar hid himself in the sea. Mount Girnar happens to be the brother of Parvathi a search was undertaken to find him.Atlast they found him in the sea. Parvathi got angry with the Sea and asked the sea to go further down by few Yojanas so that Mount Girnar can come out. Sea obliged. Mount Girnar settled there .Parvathi was angry with Indra and asked all the devatas including Indra to reside on the Mount Girnar.Hence it acquired such importance and they say all sins will be wiped out if you have darshan of Mount Girnar once in your life time..
The significant part of Junagad’s heritage spots are the stone edicts of Emperor Asoka found on the road towards Mt Girnar.These edicts are precepts of speaking in moral and ethical terms. The edict is in the language of’”Pali”.Ashoka when converted into Buddhism had edicts carved in stone and placed in sites all over across India (Ranging from Kandahar in West, Bangladesh East , Andhra Pradesh in South and in Junagad )
Another Heritage centre is “’Mahabath maqbara”which is built in over the grave of Nawab Mahabbath Khan. Its architecture mixes Hindu, Muslim and European influences.
Junagad Museum, and Durbar hall Museum are two famous Museums in Junagad.We could not see these Museums as they are closed down on Wednesday and we happened to be there on Wednesday.
.
GONDAL
Next day we are on the way back to Ahmadabad. On the way back we halted at Gondal and went round the palace and museums.
Gondal is known for its palace, vintage car Museum and Swaminarayan Temple.. The riverside palace commissioned in 1875 by Bhagwath Singh is now a heritage hotel..Gondal is ruled by a family of car enthusiasts whose royal passion resulted in a fine collection of automobiles which are now part of Museum in the palace premises.
An old well decorated Railway coach is also part of the museum. The railway coach is converted into hotel room with bed room, drawing room, dining hall, and bar. Similar to present “Palace on wheels.’. The visitors are allowed to see the museum and Palace.The entry ticket per head is Rs 60 for Vintage car Museum and Rs 20 for Railway coach and Rs 10 for the palace.
Swaminarayan temple at Gondal is an imposing structure spread over large area. During our visit it was closed for renovation work.
We reached Ahmadabad around 7 P.M.After spending further a day at Ahmadabad We returned back after 10 days of interesting and exciting tour.
“The End’
1. DWARAKA & PORBANDER
Next halt was Dwarakadeesh temple also known as ‘Jagat mandir’, and “Triloksunder” is situated on Gomati Creek. The story goes that the temple was built by great grand son of Sri Krishna Vajranabh about 2500 years back. The temple is with huge Shikhar and with a flag believed to be made from 52 yards cloth .The temple consists of a Sanctum, and a rectangular hall with porches on three sides. The Dwar where pilgrims enter is called “Swarg Dwar “ and “ Moksha Dwar ‘ where from pilgrims exit..We have seen pilgrims are entering and leaving from the same Dwar ,may be due to security reasons.
The lower part of the temple appears to be built later. The main part of the temple reaches a height of nearly 100 meters. The Lord Dwarakadeesh idol is decorated with elaborate ornamentation.
The main attraction at temple is performing Harathi to Darakadeesh which is held 3 to 4 times a day at different timings. During Harathi time there is tremendous rush of pilgrims and as there is no proper arrangement it is difficult to get Darshan of Lord. Once the Harathi is over, one can leisurely have Darshan of Lord.
With its imposing architecture, Dwaraka deesh temple is one of the few temples frequently visited by pilgrims from all over the world.
BetDwaraka which is claimed as original abode of Lord Krishna is 5 k. meters away reached by a Ferry. This is a small island. Regularly pilgrims are transported to Bet Dwaraka from Dwaraka through big Ferries. We traveled in one of the Ferries. The ticket is Rs 16 per head both ways. Lord Krishna temple here is 500 years old built by Shri Vallabhacharya.It enshrines an Idol. As legend goes that this idol is made by Rukmini.The premises houses Sathyabhama palace and Jambavathi palace and other small temples.Archhalogical excavations at this place give adequate proof that original Dwaraka existed here and immersed under Sea over course of time.
On the way to Bet Dwaraka we visited Nageshwar Jyothirlinga temple. It is enshrined by one of the12 Swayambhu Jyothirlingas in the world in an underground sanctum. By the side of the temple you find imposing 25 meters tall statue of a sitting Lord Shiva.
While returning back from BetDwraka on the way we visited “Rukmini Devi Temple”. Surprisingly this temple is situated far away from main abode of Sree Krishna Bet Dwaraka...They say that once Lord Krishna and Rukmini invited Rishi Durvasa for Dinner.Durvasa agreed but asked them to take him in a chariot pulling the chariot themselves. They agreed. On the way Rukmini got thirsty and Lord Krishna prodded his toe into the earth to draw spring of holy water.Rukmini took a sip without offering water to Rishi.Durvasa cursed her that she would be separated from Lord Krishna for 12 years.
The whole region is dry area and you only find Sea water and not fresh water. Daily fresh water is brought by tankers from distant places.Non availability of fresh water is also due to curse of Durvasa they say. Donations are offered at the temple in terms of cost of one tanker or part thereof.
After visiting Dwaraka, we proceeded to Porbander.On the way from Dwaraka to Porbander there is small lake called ‘ Gopi Talav’.The legend says Gopis in Vrindavan came to visit lord Krishna when he moved to Dwaraka.They danced along with Lord Krishna at this place and unable to part from Krishna and offered their lives. It is said that they turned into yellow clay known as: Gopi chandan’.Even today the soil here is yellow in color.
Porbander falls on the way to Somnath .We spent some time here , which is famous for Gandhiji”s birth place. You find old 3 storey Haveli in the city where Gandhiji born and spent his childhood.. The Haveli is called as “Kirthy Mandir’, constructed by Gandhiji”s great great grand father. In the premises there’s a small museum with an exhibit of old photographs and library of books. The old Gandhiji”s house is retained as it is. You find a room where his mother gave birth to him and also a small room which was young Gandhiji”s study room. Near to the back side of the Haveli Kasturba Gandhi’s ancestor home is situated .This also well-preserved.
Another place in Porbander worth seeing is Bharath Mandir with exhibits of sculptures, Pictures and other examples of Indian tradition.
Near by there is sudhama mandir which was closed when we visited. It was lunch time. The legend goes that Sudhama is from this place.
We started Porbander around 3 p.m for Somnath. Journey to Somnath by road is across coast and you find Madhavpur beach on the way. .The beach is not very crowded. Visitors are few because of distance from city. We spent some time at the beach. Our driver cautioned that we should not venture into the beach as it is suddenly very shallow at certain places.
We reached place Balika tirtha outskirts of Somnath around 5.P.M
Next halt was Dwarakadeesh temple also known as ‘Jagat mandir’, and “Triloksunder” is situated on Gomati Creek. The story goes that the temple was built by great grand son of Sri Krishna Vajranabh about 2500 years back. The temple is with huge Shikhar and with a flag believed to be made from 52 yards cloth .The temple consists of a Sanctum, and a rectangular hall with porches on three sides. The Dwar where pilgrims enter is called “Swarg Dwar “ and “ Moksha Dwar ‘ where from pilgrims exit..We have seen pilgrims are entering and leaving from the same Dwar ,may be due to security reasons.
The lower part of the temple appears to be built later. The main part of the temple reaches a height of nearly 100 meters. The Lord Dwarakadeesh idol is decorated with elaborate ornamentation.
The main attraction at temple is performing Harathi to Darakadeesh which is held 3 to 4 times a day at different timings. During Harathi time there is tremendous rush of pilgrims and as there is no proper arrangement it is difficult to get Darshan of Lord. Once the Harathi is over, one can leisurely have Darshan of Lord.
With its imposing architecture, Dwaraka deesh temple is one of the few temples frequently visited by pilgrims from all over the world.
BetDwaraka which is claimed as original abode of Lord Krishna is 5 k. meters away reached by a Ferry. This is a small island. Regularly pilgrims are transported to Bet Dwaraka from Dwaraka through big Ferries. We traveled in one of the Ferries. The ticket is Rs 16 per head both ways. Lord Krishna temple here is 500 years old built by Shri Vallabhacharya.It enshrines an Idol. As legend goes that this idol is made by Rukmini.The premises houses Sathyabhama palace and Jambavathi palace and other small temples.Archhalogical excavations at this place give adequate proof that original Dwaraka existed here and immersed under Sea over course of time.
On the way to Bet Dwaraka we visited Nageshwar Jyothirlinga temple. It is enshrined by one of the12 Swayambhu Jyothirlingas in the world in an underground sanctum. By the side of the temple you find imposing 25 meters tall statue of a sitting Lord Shiva.
While returning back from BetDwraka on the way we visited “Rukmini Devi Temple”. Surprisingly this temple is situated far away from main abode of Sree Krishna Bet Dwaraka...They say that once Lord Krishna and Rukmini invited Rishi Durvasa for Dinner.Durvasa agreed but asked them to take him in a chariot pulling the chariot themselves. They agreed. On the way Rukmini got thirsty and Lord Krishna prodded his toe into the earth to draw spring of holy water.Rukmini took a sip without offering water to Rishi.Durvasa cursed her that she would be separated from Lord Krishna for 12 years.
The whole region is dry area and you only find Sea water and not fresh water. Daily fresh water is brought by tankers from distant places.Non availability of fresh water is also due to curse of Durvasa they say. Donations are offered at the temple in terms of cost of one tanker or part thereof.
After visiting Dwaraka, we proceeded to Porbander.On the way from Dwaraka to Porbander there is small lake called ‘ Gopi Talav’.The legend says Gopis in Vrindavan came to visit lord Krishna when he moved to Dwaraka.They danced along with Lord Krishna at this place and unable to part from Krishna and offered their lives. It is said that they turned into yellow clay known as: Gopi chandan’.Even today the soil here is yellow in color.
Porbander falls on the way to Somnath .We spent some time here , which is famous for Gandhiji”s birth place. You find old 3 storey Haveli in the city where Gandhiji born and spent his childhood.. The Haveli is called as “Kirthy Mandir’, constructed by Gandhiji”s great great grand father. In the premises there’s a small museum with an exhibit of old photographs and library of books. The old Gandhiji”s house is retained as it is. You find a room where his mother gave birth to him and also a small room which was young Gandhiji”s study room. Near to the back side of the Haveli Kasturba Gandhi’s ancestor home is situated .This also well-preserved.
Another place in Porbander worth seeing is Bharath Mandir with exhibits of sculptures, Pictures and other examples of Indian tradition.
Near by there is sudhama mandir which was closed when we visited. It was lunch time. The legend goes that Sudhama is from this place.
We started Porbander around 3 p.m for Somnath. Journey to Somnath by road is across coast and you find Madhavpur beach on the way. .The beach is not very crowded. Visitors are few because of distance from city. We spent some time at the beach. Our driver cautioned that we should not venture into the beach as it is suddenly very shallow at certain places.
We reached place Balika tirtha outskirts of Somnath around 5.P.M
2. JAMNAGAR
The next halt after Ahmadabad was Jamnagar .On the way there is a Chamundi temple .Main temple is on hillock. As it requires considerable time we visited the temple down below. We are told that all the tourists passing through this will visit the temple and take blessings of Mata.
Jamnagar is basically an industrial town. However few fascinating places like
Lakhota palace and Museum, Bala Hanuman temple and Khijadia bird Sanctuary are worth seeing places
Lakhota palace was built by Jam Ranmalji for drought relief after failed monsoons year after year to facilitate of the people of city to find food and resources. It is built on the island centre of lake. Circular Lakhota tower of palace is impressive to watch. The palace houses the Museum. On entry you find Guard room with swords, muskets etc as the palace was originally built for defending from invading army. The walls of Museum are covered in frescos depicting various battles fought by Rajpuths.the fort is connected to the bank by two causeways but is only accessible from one side.
The entry ticket is only Rs 2 per head .We find quite number of foreign visitors who came from places like Brussels, Sweden etc..Next to Lakhota palace there is Bala Hanuman temple. You find Bala Hanuman idol (Perhaps only the place in India) hardly two feet height. The temple is famous for its continuous chanting of the “Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram “since from 1964 for which it is even listed in the Gunnies Book of World Records. We can also join if we wish in chanting for few minutes which we did.
Durbargad, the old royal residence which is built in 1540 is another Heritage place. Presently it is empty. Outside you find number of shopping centers selling famous Bandini Sarees and Tie and die Sarees, for which Jamnagar is famous for.
Another interesting place is Khijadia Bird sanctuary. This covers an area of 6 sq km and formed from the two man made dykes that separate fresh water from Sea water. This facilitates to watch species simultaneously that belong to each eco system. You find number of migratory birds. It is worth place to spend some time all the more if you are keen Bird watcher. The entry ticket is Rs 200 for four people with vehicle. You can go round on your own vehicle.
The next halt after Ahmadabad was Jamnagar .On the way there is a Chamundi temple .Main temple is on hillock. As it requires considerable time we visited the temple down below. We are told that all the tourists passing through this will visit the temple and take blessings of Mata.
Jamnagar is basically an industrial town. However few fascinating places like
Lakhota palace and Museum, Bala Hanuman temple and Khijadia bird Sanctuary are worth seeing places
Lakhota palace was built by Jam Ranmalji for drought relief after failed monsoons year after year to facilitate of the people of city to find food and resources. It is built on the island centre of lake. Circular Lakhota tower of palace is impressive to watch. The palace houses the Museum. On entry you find Guard room with swords, muskets etc as the palace was originally built for defending from invading army. The walls of Museum are covered in frescos depicting various battles fought by Rajpuths.the fort is connected to the bank by two causeways but is only accessible from one side.
The entry ticket is only Rs 2 per head .We find quite number of foreign visitors who came from places like Brussels, Sweden etc..Next to Lakhota palace there is Bala Hanuman temple. You find Bala Hanuman idol (Perhaps only the place in India) hardly two feet height. The temple is famous for its continuous chanting of the “Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram “since from 1964 for which it is even listed in the Gunnies Book of World Records. We can also join if we wish in chanting for few minutes which we did.
Durbargad, the old royal residence which is built in 1540 is another Heritage place. Presently it is empty. Outside you find number of shopping centers selling famous Bandini Sarees and Tie and die Sarees, for which Jamnagar is famous for.
Another interesting place is Khijadia Bird sanctuary. This covers an area of 6 sq km and formed from the two man made dykes that separate fresh water from Sea water. This facilitates to watch species simultaneously that belong to each eco system. You find number of migratory birds. It is worth place to spend some time all the more if you are keen Bird watcher. The entry ticket is Rs 200 for four people with vehicle. You can go round on your own vehicle.
VACATION
SOURASHTRA TOUR
1.AHMEDABAD
Recently we have been to Sourashtra tour. The itinary was selected by us according to our choice and the Southern Travels arranged transport and Hotel accommodation at various places.
We planned of visiting few pilgrimage centres such as Nageshwar, and Somnath temples (Two of Twelve Jyothirlingas) and Dwaraka coupled with few heritage places like Porbander, Gondal and natural Safari like Gir Sanctuary..
We started our journey by car from Ahmadabad reaching Ahmadabad from Secunderabad by train.
Ahmadabad is known as Walled city famous for few interesting tourist attractions. On arriving Ahmadabad we straight away went to visit Gandhi Ashram which is in the heart of city. Set up in 1920 on the Western bank of Sabarmati River Gandhi Ashram presents nostalgia of gone by days. The internationally famous Dandi March was started from this place. The place is well preserved and lot of daily things used by the Mahathma is on display. Later on we visited Iscon temple and had Harathi Darshan of Lord.
On the return journey from Junagad we stayed for two days at Ahmadabad again. The other places worth seeing at Ahmadabad are Adalaj Stepwell, Akshardham temple and Vaishnodevi temple.
Adalaj step well situated in outskirts of Ahmadabad .This deep well was built in 1499AD by queen Rudabai wife of Vaghela chief Veer Singh. to provide resting place and source of drinking water for villagers. The pillars and walls show Hindu culture style. The descending steps of the well leads to a series of underground platforms about five stories below to the octagonal well. The well is covered. This step well is with three entrance stairs. All three stairs meet at the first storey. The architecture is Indo Islamic. All the walls are carved by ornamentation, mythological scenes. It is really fabulous to watch the intricacies of construction and wonder the technology used in constructing such wonderful structure.
Akshardham temple is a beautiful temple in a 23 acres plot of Gandhinagar.It is majestic amid sprawling gardens. The temple is built with pink sand stone. The seven foot high gold leafed Murthi of Lord Swaminarayan is the focal point of complex. The Swaminarayan is in sitting posture with the right hand raised in Abhay mudra.Both of his disciples Swami Gunatitanand, and Gopalanand Swami Idols are there on both sides of main idol. There is an exhibition followed by Sound and light show presenting inspiring episodes and incidents on Hinduism. We could not see the show for want of time as it requires minimum half a day to spare. The visitors rush is quite heavy and security checks are very elaborate as not even money purses are allowed inside the premises. The temple is opened for visitors in the month of November 1992.
The other temples visited in Ahmadabad are Vaishnodevi temple and Shirdisai temple and Ambaji temple. We are told Vaishnodevi temple is constructed almost as replica of the temples of Vaishnodevi of Jammu and Hardwar. There is a beautiful bird Sanctuary at Nal Sarovar which is about 60 k.m from Ahmedabad.We started early morning to Sarovar to have an glimpse of migratory birds. We are partially disappointed as there is no proper system to take visitors to the spot for viewing. You will be surrounded by hawkers and they confuse you and cheat you. We avoided taking risk of going with these hawkers in unreliable boats into mid stream. Our next halt after Ahmadabad was Jamnagar.
1.AHMEDABAD
Recently we have been to Sourashtra tour. The itinary was selected by us according to our choice and the Southern Travels arranged transport and Hotel accommodation at various places.
We planned of visiting few pilgrimage centres such as Nageshwar, and Somnath temples (Two of Twelve Jyothirlingas) and Dwaraka coupled with few heritage places like Porbander, Gondal and natural Safari like Gir Sanctuary..
We started our journey by car from Ahmadabad reaching Ahmadabad from Secunderabad by train.
Ahmadabad is known as Walled city famous for few interesting tourist attractions. On arriving Ahmadabad we straight away went to visit Gandhi Ashram which is in the heart of city. Set up in 1920 on the Western bank of Sabarmati River Gandhi Ashram presents nostalgia of gone by days. The internationally famous Dandi March was started from this place. The place is well preserved and lot of daily things used by the Mahathma is on display. Later on we visited Iscon temple and had Harathi Darshan of Lord.
On the return journey from Junagad we stayed for two days at Ahmadabad again. The other places worth seeing at Ahmadabad are Adalaj Stepwell, Akshardham temple and Vaishnodevi temple.
Adalaj step well situated in outskirts of Ahmadabad .This deep well was built in 1499AD by queen Rudabai wife of Vaghela chief Veer Singh. to provide resting place and source of drinking water for villagers. The pillars and walls show Hindu culture style. The descending steps of the well leads to a series of underground platforms about five stories below to the octagonal well. The well is covered. This step well is with three entrance stairs. All three stairs meet at the first storey. The architecture is Indo Islamic. All the walls are carved by ornamentation, mythological scenes. It is really fabulous to watch the intricacies of construction and wonder the technology used in constructing such wonderful structure.
Akshardham temple is a beautiful temple in a 23 acres plot of Gandhinagar.It is majestic amid sprawling gardens. The temple is built with pink sand stone. The seven foot high gold leafed Murthi of Lord Swaminarayan is the focal point of complex. The Swaminarayan is in sitting posture with the right hand raised in Abhay mudra.Both of his disciples Swami Gunatitanand, and Gopalanand Swami Idols are there on both sides of main idol. There is an exhibition followed by Sound and light show presenting inspiring episodes and incidents on Hinduism. We could not see the show for want of time as it requires minimum half a day to spare. The visitors rush is quite heavy and security checks are very elaborate as not even money purses are allowed inside the premises. The temple is opened for visitors in the month of November 1992.
The other temples visited in Ahmadabad are Vaishnodevi temple and Shirdisai temple and Ambaji temple. We are told Vaishnodevi temple is constructed almost as replica of the temples of Vaishnodevi of Jammu and Hardwar. There is a beautiful bird Sanctuary at Nal Sarovar which is about 60 k.m from Ahmedabad.We started early morning to Sarovar to have an glimpse of migratory birds. We are partially disappointed as there is no proper system to take visitors to the spot for viewing. You will be surrounded by hawkers and they confuse you and cheat you. We avoided taking risk of going with these hawkers in unreliable boats into mid stream. Our next halt after Ahmadabad was Jamnagar.
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