Sign In
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Kolkata: When it comes to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, we mainly tend to think about historical places and wildlife sanctuaries of immense ecological significance. However, in some cases, an entire city has also been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site due to its immense cultural significance and heritage. In India, Ahmedabad, the largest and most well-known city of Gujarat is one such place. The city, due to its history, is a heritage site of UNESCO.
The Historic City of Ahmedabad, also known as the Walled City of Ahmedabad, is located on the Sabarmati river's eastern bank. It was founded in the 15th century and has a rich heritage when it comes to architecture, right from the days of the Sultans, with the Bhadra citadel being a notable structure. Also, the old city was walls and gates of the bygone era along with several temples, mosques and tombs.
The urban fabric of the old Ahmedabad is made up of traditional houses also known as pols which are densely packed in gated traditional streets known as puras. The features of these places are public wells, bird feeders, and religious institutions. For almost 600 years, the city flourished as Gujarat's capital and even today, it is the most important city in the state.
The earliest settlements were located to the current old city's south and on the Sabarmati River's banks. In the 11th century, Karna of the Chaulukya dynasty made the town his capital and named it Karnavati. However, the city of Ahmedabad was founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah in 1411 AD. He built the Bhadra Fort and also established the first square of the city, Manek Chowk. The Gujarat Sultanate of Ahmed Shah ruled ruled from the city until 1484, when his grandson, Mahmud Begada transferred the capital of the Sultanate from Ahmedabad to Muhammadabad. However, he carried out the city's second fortification and Ahmedabad once again became the sultanate's capital later until it fell to Mughals in 1573.
The Historic City of Ahmedabad is an archaeological goldmine as many of the structures have survived over the centuries. The historic significance of the city has been strengthened by its urban archaeology, based on the remains from the Pre-Sultanate and Sultanate periods. If we take a look at the Sultanate period's architecture, we will see that the monuments represent a unique fusion of the city's multicultural character. The old city has a very rich domestic wooden architecture with havelis, pols, and khadkis which were inner entrances to the pols.
The old city's wooden architecture stands as the unique heritage of Ahmedabad. It shows the significant contributions of Ahmedabad to traditions, arts and crafts, and structure design. The architecture of the city was designed for harmony among the families, communities, and multiculturalism. Which is why, the old city of Ahmedabad is home to institutions belonging to several religions including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. All these make the Ahmedabad's historic urban structure an exceptional and unique example of multicultural coexistence.
The Bhadra Fort, which is square in shape and covers an area of 43 acres, is possibly the most notably structure in the old city of Ahmedabad. The fort consists of eight gates and is a place of immense historical significance. Also, there is the Jama Masjid whose construction was completed in 1423. Later, with the expansion of the city, the walls were also expanded. Due to that, Mahmud Begada carried the second fortification of the city in 1486. Earlier, people used to think that there were 12 gates in Ahmedabad but as per some historians, there were 16 gates.
Later, some Indologist found that the city had 21 gates. While Ahmedabad lost its importance after the Sultanate period, the old city became centre of political activities during the Indian freedom struggle under Mahatma Gandhi. Today, the old city has become crowded and dilapidated, but it still acts as metropolitan Ahmedabad's symbolic heart. In July 2017, it became a UNESCO World Heritage City. The old city, despite the growth of the bustling metropolitan Ahmedabad, still stands proudly with history and heritage of Gujarat embedded in every fabric of the erstwhile capital of the state.
