Bijapur

Gol Gumbaz:-The tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah, boasts of the second-largest tomb in the world.44 m in diameter, the interior of the dome is mysteriously unsupported and has a whispering gallery under it, whose acoustics are superb. Located in the north-eastern part of Karnataka, Bijapur used to be the home of the Bahamani Sultans. Adil Shah began the task of building his own tomb, quite earnestly and went on with this work for over 20 years.


530 kms to the north-west of Bangalore is the ancient town of Bijapur, the capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty. Bijapur is close to Belgaum - the gateway to Karnataka from Goa and Bombay. Bijapur has many places of Historical, Cultural and Architectural interest.

Local sights

The Gol Gombaz or Gola Gummata

The dome is the second largest in the world, 124 feet in diameter. The architecture of this building is unique with the four minarets being the four staircases leading to the top dome. The acoustics of the enclosed space make it a whispering gallery, where even the smallest sound is heard across the other side of the Gombuz. At the periphery of the dome is a circular balcony where visitors can witness its greatest marvel, "ECHO". Any whisper, clap or sound gets echoed 9 times (11 times with fading) and creates an ideal stereophonic stage even for the weak-lunged singers. Even the smallest whisper amplifies and is clearly heard at the diagonally opposite side of the dome.

Story has it that the Adil Shah with his beloved, went up this balcony and both were looking down the awesome nine storied depth of its central hall. "You do love me a lot" said the Shah, "Now, would you do ANYTHING for my sake?" "Yes" said the beautiful one. "If so" said the Shah jokingly, "would you jump down this balcony?" "Sure, and here I go" the beautiful one jumped out to show her eternal love. Heart-broken, the Shah cursed himself for testing the eternal bond between them and wept for the rest of his life. The beauty and excellence of this dome must be experienced at least once in a life time. Lovers come here to whisper (aloud!), singers to enjoy the stereophonic effect and children to test the strength of their giggle.

Jumma Masjid

Jumma Masjid is the other attraction of this city. Jumma Masjid still used for worship, has been called one of the first mosques in India. It holds an exquisite copy of the Quran, written in gold. Also dating back to the period of Adil Shah this is the largest Masjid in the region. Barah Cummon (12 arches) is another wonderful piece of architecture created simply with twelve interleaving arches as a centre stage for art festivities.

The Malik-e-Maiden.
The largest medieval cannon in the world, is 14 ft long, weighing 55 tons. Legend has it that if you touch the gun and make a wish, it will come true!

Also worth visit are the Mehtar Mahal, the Jod Gumbaz, Afzal Khan's Cenotaph, Asar Mahal, Anand Mahal, Ark-Killa, etc.

The Ibrahim Roza

Further to the edge of the city is the Ibrahim Roza, a beautiful tomb with artistically laid out corridors and interconnecting buildings with richly decorated walls and perforated stone windows. Ibrahim Roza, the mausoleum of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, is said to have inspired the Taj Mahal in Agra. At the centre of the town are large arches signifying the forts and its beauty in moonlight. Even though many of the structures were damaged by Aurangazeb, Bijapur remains a must see town.

Around Bijapur




Aihole

This Temple city is 110 kms away from Bijapur. It is famous as the 'Cradle of Indian Temple Architecture'. Aihole has over 125 temples all intricately carved and rich in detail. The oldest temple here, is perhaps the 5th century Lad Khan Temple. The Durga (Fort) Temple has a semi-circular apse and a complete portico. The Hutchmalli Temple, the Ravalphadi Cave Temple, The Konti Temple Complex, The Uma Maheshwari Temple, the Jain Meguthi temple and the two-storeyed Buddhist temple are the other attractions at Aihole.

Pattadakal

Pattadakal has a distance of 134 kms from Bijapur. A world Heritage Center, it has 10 major temples representing early Chalukyan architecture. The biggest temple dedicated to Virupaksheshvara, has a huge gateway and several inscriptions. In front of the temple is a majestic 2.6 in high Nandi. The Mallikarjuna and Papanatha Temples, and the Jain Temple from the Papanatha Temples and the Jain Temple from the Rashtrakuta period are well worth visit.

Badami

About 120 kms from Bijapur. The capital of the early Chalukyas, Badami is picturesquely situated at the mouth of a ravine between two rocky hills. It has four rock - cut cave temples, the largest being the third cave dedicated to Vishnu. Overlooking the temples is a reservoir its banks dotted with temples dedicated to Vishnu and Shiva. The Bhutanatha Temples and the Museum set up by the Archaeological Survey of India, are the other attractions.

Basavana Bagewadi
About 43 kms from Bijapur, this town is the birth-place of Saint Basaveshwara. There are several important temples here.

Kudalasangama
67 kms from Bijapur is a famous pilgrim centre, associated with the great 12th century poet and reformer Saint Basaveshwara.

Astrology
In Bagalkot district a village named Kodihal has a soothsayer in every 3rd house. This village is located 20 kms from Kudala Sangama where the 12th century reformer Basaveshwara attained salvation. The village has 2,500 families out of which 800 are astrologers.

Centuries ago, members of the Gondhali community whose family profession was fortunetelling migrated from Maharashtra and settled here. It is not difficult to identify members of this community they are usually clad in white kurtas and dhotis they smear vermilion on the foreheads and wrists are adorned with chains of beads and precious stones. They also carry a bag which contains family histories of each household in Kodihal and their other regular customers, apart from a panchanga (the Hindu almanac), some conch-shells, vermilion, turmeric and other powders considered sacred.

Most of them speak Marathi at home and Kannada to clients. They also speak other languages like English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu for survival instinct.

There are over 8000 astrologers from Kodihal who have settled across the country.