We arrived at Bijapur and our first stop was the most famous monument in Bijapur, the "Gol Gumbaz". It had a parking lot and we parked and headed the monument. There was a Rs. 25 entry fee for us, but a Rs. 300 entry fee for foreigners aka non-Indians. I find this to be a bad idea and something we as a nation should rethink. We talk of "Atithi Deva Bhavo" which means "Guest is God", spend tens of millions of dollars on promoting "Incredible India" and then have a differential pricing for our guests. To encourage Indian visitors who may not be able to afford the higher fees, that I assume the foreigners are currently subsidizing, we could have a "Free Entry" day or a student discount or a senior citizen discount or a zillion other things or maybe all of the above. But, I digress.
The Gol Gumbaz is a fascinating work of art. And rather than me trying to describe its beauty, let me give you its history from people far more knowledgeable on the subject than me.
Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur is the mausoleum of king Muhammad Adil Shah, Adil Shah Dynasty. Construction of the tomb, located in Vijayapura (formerly Bijapur), Karnataka, India, was started in 1626 and completed in 1656. The name is based on Gola gummata derived from Gol Gombadh meaning "circular dome".[1] It follows the style of Indo-Islamic architecture.[2] Even a slight whisper by someone standing in this gallery can be heard everywhere in the gallery, and if somebody claps, the echo can be heard several times.
Bijapur surprisingly has not just the Gol Gumbaz, but 7 other historic sites. We visited all of them. While all of them were beautiful and awe-inspiring the only 2 that were extremely well maintained were the 2 under the aegis of the ASI aka Archeological Society of India where there was an entrance fee of Rs. 25, you were required to take your shoes off and store them for a fee of Rs. 5. The first was the Gol Gumbaz and the second was the Ibrahim Roza.
The Ibrahim Rauza tomb was built by Adil Shah II and it took around 47 years to construct it. The building which was started in 1580 and completed in 1627 constitutes of the tomb at the eastern end and a mosque at the western end both of which rise opposite each other. The two structures have a fountain and a very decorative tank between them. There is a prayer chamber in the mosque that has five arches. These buildings are enclosed within a square and have a captivating garden in front. The buildings stand on a podium which has a length of 360 feet and a width of 160 feet.
The other places of historic interest that we visited were:
You can see a well-made video tour of the city
Bijapur (10 Places to visit)
Shajahan Photography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bijapur
India is indeed Incredible. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. I need to go see the rest of
"Incredible India". And so should you.
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