Cities in India 

Bijapur

Population                     : 209,000
Main Languages             : Kannada.
Telephone area code     : 08352
Best time to visit            : October to March

Known as the Agra of the South, Biajpur is full of ruined and still intact gems of 15^th to 17^th century. Like Agra, it has its world famous mausoleu, the Golgumbaz.  Bijapur was the capital of the Adil Shahi Kings (1489-1686). The grace of monuments, in this city is in complete contrast to the sculptural extravaganza of the Chalukyan and Hoysala temple further south. The two main attractions of this town are the Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Roza.

Places of Interest
Gol Gumbaz : It is the mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah (1626-56), hhis two wives, his mistress, one of his daughters and a grandson.
Built in 1659, it’s four walls enclose a majestic hall 1704 sq. m in area, buttressed by octagonal seven storey towers at each of the corners.  This basis structure is capped by an enormous dome said to the world’s second largest after St. Peter’s, Vatican city.  The diameter of the dome is 38m. Around the base of the dome at the top of the hall is a three meter wide gallery known as the “whispering gallery” since the acoustics here are such that any sound made is repeated 10 times over.

Ibrahim Roza : This beautiful structure was constructed at the height of  Bijapur’s prosperity by Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1580-1626) for his queen.  The emphasis here is on elegance and delicacy and its 24m high minarets are said to have inspired those of  Taj Mahal. It is one of the few monuments in Bijapur with substantial stone filigree and other sculpturally decorative work.

Jama-E-Masjid : It was constructed by Adil Shah (1557-80) and is a finely proportioned building with graceful arches, a fine dome and a large inner courtyard containing fountains and a reservoir.

Citadel : Surrounded by fortified walls, the citadel once contained palaces, pleasure gardens and Durbar Hall of the Adil Shahi kings, most of them are now in ruins.

The Gagan Mahal, gives a good idea of the scale on which things were built here. This palace was built by Adil Shah I to serve the dual purpose of royal residence and Durbar Hall. The Sat Manzil, Mohammed Adil Shah’s seven storey ppalace and the Jala Manzil is the more delicate pieces of architecture in Bijaipur.

Cast in 1549 by Mohammed-bin-Hasan Rumi, a Turkish officer is a huge cannon, Malik-E-Maidan is one of the largest guns ever made in medieval times and measures over four meters long and alomost 1 ½ m in diameter and is estimated to weigh over 55 tonnes.

Other buildings in the citadel are the Upli Buruj,  a watchtower, 24m high  from where one can have a good view of the city, Anand Mahal and the Mecca Masjid and the Mehtar Mahal which is typical of the architecture of Bijapur and has been richly decorated with sculptural work.

HOW TO REACH
By Air

By Train
Trains from Hospet, Bangalore and Hubli.

By Road
4 hours drive from Badami.