List of tourist attractions in Aurangabad

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Buddha statue at Lokuttara Mahavihara in Chauka, Aurangabad Large Buddha statue at Lokuttara Buddha Vihar, Chauka.jpg
Buddha statue at Lokuttara Mahavihara in Chauka, Aurangabad
Bibi Ka Maqbara Bibi Ka Maqbara, Aurangabad, Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, India (2006).jpg
Bibi Ka Maqbara

Aurangabad is a historic city in the Maharashtra state of India. The city is a tourist hub, surrounded by many historical monuments, including the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as well as Bibi Ka Maqbara and Panchakki. The administrative headquarters of the Aurangabad Division or Marathwada region, Aurangabad, is said to be a City of Gates and the strong presence of these can be felt as one drive through the city. In 2010, the Maharashtra Tourism Minister declared Aurangabad to be the tourism capital of Maharashtra. [1] [2] It is also one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. [3]

Contents

Ajanta Caves Aurangabad - Ajanta Caves (36).JPG
Ajanta Caves

History of Aurangabad

The city was founded in 1610 by Malik Ambar, the Prime Minister of Murtaza. Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar on the site of a village called Khadki. He made it his capital and the men of his army raised their dwellings around it. Within a decade Khadki grew into a populous and imposing city. Malik Ambar died in 1626. He was succeeded by his son Fateh Khan who changed the name of Khadki to Fatehnagar. With the capture of Daulatabad in 1633, the Nizam Shahi dominions, including Fatehnagar, came under the possession of the Mughals. In 1653 when Prince Aurangzeb was appointed the viceroy of the Deccan for the second time, he made Fatehnagar his capital and called it Aurangabad.

Tourist attractions in the city

See also: Gates in Aurangabad

Bibi Ka Maqbara, inside view Bibi Ka Maqbara (Inside).jpg
Bibi Ka Maqbara, inside view
Bhadkal Gate, built by Malik Ambar in commemoration of his victory against the Mughals Bhadkal Gate.JPG
Bhadkal Gate, built by Malik Ambar in commemoration of his victory against the Mughals
Panchakki, Baba Shah Mosafar Dargah, 1880s Panchakki.jpg
Panchakki, Baba Shah Mosafar Dargah, 1880s
Bibi Ka Maqbara, aerial view Maqbara Aerial.gif
Bibi Ka Maqbara, aerial view
Salim Ali Lake Salim Ali Lake.jpg
Salim Ali Lake

The mosque is on a raised platform, and has shops on three of the outer sides; while the fourth or the north side is open and is ascended by a flight of steps. The facade represents an arcade of five scalloped arches, constructed in the Indo-Saracenic style, and supported on stone pillars. This portion projects a little; and the interior contains twenty-four pillars, which with six pilasters in the back wall, are arranged in the form of a square. The central portion is covered with a graceful bulbous dome, having the base adorned with crisp crinkled lotus leaves tied in a neat narrow band; and the apex bears an elegant spire. Arcaded monasteries called Kham Khas form the east and the west wings, and consist of five arches on either side, constructed like the arches of the main building, but of horizontal structure. The interior is connected by horizontal arches; and the roof is formed of a series of little domes, each supported on four pillars. There are minarets at the corners of the main building, and at the end angels of the Kham Khas. The courtyard in front contains two large cisterns. The entrance is in the form of a little mosque, with a pointed arch and two minarets.

Tourist attractions in Aurangabad District

Painting from the Ajanta caves Indischer Maler des 6. Jahrhunderts 001.jpg
Painting from the Ajanta caves
Kailasha temple at Ellora Kailasha temple at ellora.JPG
Kailasha temple at Ellora
Daulatabad (Deogiri) Fort Daulatabad fort(erstwhile Deogiri fort), Aurangabad, India.jpg
Daulatabad (Deogiri) Fort
Zainuddin Shirzai Dargah Khuldabad Khaje Zainuddin Shirzai Maqbara.jpg
Zainuddin Shirzai Dargah Khuldabad

Excursions outside Aurangabad District

Lonar crater LonarCrater.jpg
Lonar crater

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurangabad</span> Metropolis in Maharashtra, India

Aurangabad, officially known as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, or Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is the fifth-most populous urban area in Maharashtra after Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Nashik with a population of 1,175,116. The city is known as a major production center of cotton textile and artistic silk fabrics. Several prominent educational institutions, including Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, are located in the city. The city is also a popular tourism hub, with tourist destinations like the Ajanta and Ellora caves lying on its outskirts, both of which have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1983. Other tourist attractions include the Aurangabad Caves, Devagiri Fort, Grishneshwar Temple, Jama Mosque, Bibi Ka Maqbara, Himayat Bagh, Panchakki and Salim Ali Lake. Historically, there were 52 Gates in Aurangabad, some of them extant, because of which Aurangabad is nicknamed as the "City of Gates". In 2019, the Aurangabad Industrial City (AURIC) became the first greenfield industrial smart city of India under the country's flagship Smart Cities Mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marathwada</span> Segmented region of the Kingdom of Hyderabad

Marathwada is a proposed state and geographical region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurangabad division of Maharashtra. It borders the states of Karnataka and Telangana, and it lies to the west of the Vidarbha and east of Uttar Maharashtra regions of Maharashtra. The largest city of Marathwada is Aurangabad. Its people speak Marathi and Deccani Urdu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daulatabad Fort</span> 12th-century fort in Maharashtra, India

DaulatabadFort originally DeogiriFort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadavas, for a brief time the capital of the Delhi Sultanate, and later a secondary capital of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurangabad district, Maharashtra</span> District of Maharashtra in India

Aurangabad district, officially known as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, is one of the 36 districts of the state of Maharashtra in western India. It borders the districts of Nashik to the west, Jalgaon to the north, Jalna to the east, and Ahmednagar to the south. The city of Aurangabad houses the district's administrative headquarters. The district has an area of 10,100 km2, of which 37.55% is urban and the rest is rural. Aurangabad District is a major tourism region in Marathwada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibi Ka Maqbara</span> Taj Mahal of Deccan, Aurangabad

The Bibi Ka Maqbara is a tomb located in the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was commissioned in 1660 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's son prince Azam Shah in the memory of his loving mother Dilras Banu Begum. It bears a striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum of Aurangzeb's mother, Mumtaz Mahal and that is why it is also called the Taj of the Deccan. Aurangzeb was not much interested in architecture though he had commissioned the small, but elegant, Moti Masjid at Delhi. Bibi Ka Maqbara is the second largest structure that Aurangzeb has built, the largest being the Badshahi Mosque.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khuldabad</span> City in Maharashtra, India

Khuldabad is a city and a Taluka of Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is known as the Valley of Saints, or the Abode of Eternity, because in the 14th century, several Sufi saints chose to reside here. The Bhadra Maruti Temple and Dargah of Zar Zari Zar Baksh, Shaikh Burhan ud-din Gharib Chisti and Shaikh Zain-ud-din Shirazi, along with the tomb of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and his trusted General Asif Jah I, the first Nizam of Hyderabad, are located in this town. It is a holy and spiritual city of Islamic saints.

Kannad is a Taluka and a Municipal Council City in Aurangabad District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kannad has located 58 km from Aurangabad. It is located 24 km away from the Ellora Caves and Grishneshwar Temple. It is 45 Km from Daulatabad / Deogiri Fort.

Vaijapur is a city and a municipal council in Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is bordered by the Nashik districts to the west, Kannad tehsil to the north, Gangapur tehsil to the east, and Ahmednagar districts to the south. Vaijapur is the headquarters of Vaijapur tehsil and also known as the Gateway of Marathwada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panchakki</span> Water mill in Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Panchakki, a water mill, is located in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, displays the scientific thought process put in medieval Indian architecture. It was designed to generate energy via water brought down from a spring on a mountain. The building, attached to the dargah of Baba Shah Musafir, a Sufi saint, is located in a garden near the Mahmud Darvaza and consist of a mosque, a madrassa, a kacheri, a minister's house, a sarai and houses for zananas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Maharashtra</span>

Maharashtra attracts tourists from other Indian states and foreign countries. It was the second most visited Indian state by foreigners and fifth most visited state by domestic tourists in the country in 2021. Aurangabad is the tourism capital of Maharashtra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhadkal Gate</span> 1612 memorial in Maharashtra, India

Bhadkal Gate is a structure in Aurangabad City in Maharashtra, India. This gate is the biggest in the city. It was built by Ahamadnagar's Murtaza Nizamshah's vizier Malik Ambar to commemorate the victory against the Mughals in 1612. It is also known as Victory Gate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gates in Aurangabad</span>

The Gates of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar distinguish it from several other medieval cities in India. Each of the 52 gates have a local history or had individuals linked with it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dulari Qureshi</span> Indian art historian

Dulari Qureshi is an Indian academic, art historian and author. She has written more than 1,000 articles on art, culture and tourism development and its impacts on monuments. She is a retired professor and Director in the Department of Tourism Administration, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad. She is also the Cultural chairperson of the Ellora-Ajanta Aurangabad Festival. One of her significant contributions is the discovery of inscriptions at Pitalkhora near Aurangabad. Qureshi is the President of Indian Tourist Congress. She is from Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurangabad Caves</span>

The Aurangabad caves are twelve rock-cut Buddhist shrines located on a hill running roughly east to west, close to the city of Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The first reference to the Aurangabad Caves is in the great chaitya of Kanheri Caves. The Aurangabad Caves were dug out of comparatively soft basalt rock during the 6th and 7th century.

Aurangabad is a medieval Indian town named after Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who established this town during his tenure as the Viceroy of the Deccan (Dakhin), a geographical region comprising parts of modern-day Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neher water system</span>

Neher water system provided clean water for the people of Aurangabad and its suburbs. It was created by Malik Ambar who founded the town under the name Khadki and was later expanded by Aurangzeb to facilitate the military activity that became prevalent under Mughal rule during the 17th century.

The Jama Masjid is a mosque built in 1612 AD, located near the Killa Arrak in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It is historically significant because it was constructed in 1612 AD, very soon after the foundation of Aurangabad by Malik Amber in 1610 AD. The mosque was later extended by Aurangzeb(R.H) in the year 1692 AD, it is one of the oldest mosques of Aurangabad which is still in good condition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Maharashtra</span> Architectural style of the state of Maharashtra and Maharashtrian people

Maharashtra state in India is known for its Famous caves and cliffs. It is said that the varieties found in Maharashtra are wider than the caves and rock-cut architecture found in the rock cut areas of Egypt, Assyria, Persia and Greece. The Buddhist monks first started these caves in the 2nd century BC, in search of serene and peaceful environment for meditation, and they found these caves on the hillsides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Marathwada</span> Overview of tourism in Marathwada, India

Tourism in Marathwada refers to tourism in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra state in India. Aurangabad is a regional headquarters in Marathwada, and the tourism capital of Maharashtra state. Out of the four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Maharashtra, two are in the Marathwada region. There are also 110 monuments in Marathwada which are protected by Government of Maharashtra and recognized by Archaeological Survey of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomb of Malik Ambar</span> Historic site in Maharashtra, India

The Tomb of Malik Ambar is a mausoleum located in Khuldabad, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the burial place of Malik Ambar, a military leader who served as the prime minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Ambar built the tomb for himself, and was interred here upon his death in 1626. It is listed as a monument of national importance.

References

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  2. "Aurangabad declared as tourism capital of Maharashtra by Tourism Minister Dr Vijay Kumar Gavit - Traveltechie.com - India Travel News". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  3. 11 Indian cities among worlds fastest growing.
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  9. "UNESCO page – Ancient City of Sigiriya". UNESCO.org. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  10. "Ellora Caves – UNESCO World Heritage Centre". Whc.unesco.org. 6 March 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
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