Things to Do in Bijapur the Historical Town of Karnataka
Vijayapura is a must visit destination in the tourism map of Karnataka. It is rich with heritage monuments from medieval period. Earlier named as Vijayapura (City of victory) by the then rulers the Chalukyas in 10th and 11th century, it got renamed as Bijapur after Muslim invasion in 13th century.
Incidentally, the Central government had approved the request to rename the city in October 2014 from Bijapur to “Vijayapura” on 1 November 2014. Bijapur has rich history even beyond the Chalukya rule.
Evidences found here reveal that it was an inhabited place since the Stone Age. In terms of land forms too the city is fertile with 5 rivers criss-crossing it. Since long Bijapur is believed to be one of the richest districts of Karnataka.
Bijapur the Historically Rich Town of Karnataka
Brief History of Vijayapura
Bijapur, a city in north of Karnataka, is located in the Deccan plateau of south-western India. Once founded by the Yadava dynasty in the 12th century, it slipped into hands of the Bahmani Muslims in the 14th century and was the capital of Muslim kingdom. During the years 1489 to 1686, when the Adil Shahi sultans made it their capital, they brought in an era of architectural opulence. Monuments with Indo-Islamic architecture were of exceptional quality.
In 1686, the Mogul emperor Aurangzeb captured Bijapur after defesting the Shahi kings. However due to lack of reliable man power the region was soon captured by Marathas. In the early 19th century East India Company wrested it from the Marathas.
Road Trip to Vijayapura (Bijapur) from Bengaluru
We made this road trip of 8 days across Karnataka in December 2008. Bijapur (Vijayapura was then known by this name), was our northernmost destination of Karnataka then. Having read about Bijapur the historically rich town of Karnataka, it had to be included in our itinerary. We made that extra 121km drive from Badami Cave Temples, and we don’t regret that one bit. The town is so rich with historical monuments; it was like every 1 to 2km we would find something of historical significance. We spent 3 days and 2 nights here, driving around the town determined to explore every bit of it.
Bengaluru-Vijayapura Road trip
Bijapur the Historically Rich Town
Vijayapura is dotted with several sight seeing spots. They include over 50 major mosques and some 20 palaces, mostly ruined, and a host of tombs and other structures. Here I mention a few of them.
Tourist Attractions of Bijapur
It was Gol Gumbaz, where your whispers get echoed 9 times and more, that featured highest in our list of must see places of Bijapur. But we saved it for an early morning visit when it would be pin drop silence. And we hoped no other tourist would make it there early in the morning. Read more at: Whispering gallery of Gol Gumbaz.
Can you believe the inspiration for the construction of the great Taj Mahal by Shah Jehan is here in Bijapur? Infact when I walked into Ibrahim Rauza the garden tomb, the first glimpse did remind me of Taj Mahal and Biwi ka Makwara. No wonder why Bijapur is nick named as Agra of south India. The garden is so well maintained and there are guides waiting to take you around. Hire them; they are like history books of the place. Read more at: Ibrahim Rauza, the Garden Tomb.
It was at Bijapur, Jama Masjid, we got to see one of the rare mihrabs of world which still has rich gold inlay work intact. The inner courtyard of the mosque can accommodate 2250 worshipers during the prayer times. Spaces are neatly marked black outline in the polished floor for each worshiper. This was built by Ali Adil Shah I, the same ruler who built the Gagan Mahal.
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- intricate work on walls of jama masjid
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- mihrab details
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- places marked for people to pray jama masjid
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- jama masjid bijapur vijayapura karnataka
And we walked through huge arches crumbling under the pressure of time. It took a while to realize there were tombs all around! Read more at: Bara Kaman, Hauntingly Beautiful Arches.
Just a bit of the majestic palace Gagan Mahal is left. But it is maintained well and the evening spent there was worthwhile. Read more at: Visit Ruins of Gagan Mahal aaat Bijapur.
At Malik-e-Maidan (Monarch of the Plains) we saw a huge canon with Islamic inscriptions. It was brought as a war trophy to Bijapur. Observe the canon carefully; you will see the head of the canon shaped like a tiger, whose razor sharp jaws are closing on an elephant. “The tiger represents the Islam while the elephant represents the Hindus,” our guide told us. ‘Was it necessary, this religious interpretation of something artistic?’ I wondered. Anyways we moved on.
Canon in Malik-e-Maidan Bijapur
Vijayapura, Bijapur the Town
The monuments and the major tourist attraction posts are all well maintained, but the town as such isn’t so well maintained. Chaotic and congested traffic, it looks like those typical sleeping towns which suddenly woke up to the hustle and bustle of busy in-flowing traffic of the tourists. Walk little bit in to the interiors you will find the typical Indian village life. People still stand in long queues for their weekly/monthly quota of fuel (kerosene).
Queue for weekly-monthly quota of fuel (kerosene) in Bijapur
We saw colorful pots, all in a row. They were left behind by their owners to indicate their position in the long wait for water. Water is available to them just on timely basis. If you notice carefully, there is no tap, only an open outlet.
long wait for water – Bijapur
Statue of Shivaji in a traffic island Bijapur
This is Bijapur, a historic city, wealthy with palaces, mausoleums and monuments, yet not rich.
This is a very interesting place Indrani. It is also an awakening to conserve water and take good care of mother earth.
Nice pictures and narration.
Love the rich history of this place.
I am always amazed at how many spots there are to visit in India. Interesting that Vijayapura means City of Victory. Although since it has been inhabited since the Stone Age, it must have been a strong city. With so many things to do, your suggestion to hire a guide sounds good. I would love to visit the whispering gallery of Gol Bombaz.
Hi Indrani!
There is something new at Blogtrotter for you to see: back to the «urban jungle», which Reykjavik is far from being… ;)). Enjoy and have a fabulous week!
Beautiful shots !! First 2 photographs are very lovely..Thanks Indrani..Unseen Rajasthan
Bijapur has such a wonderful history. Not quite publicised I feel. Those colourful pots are so refreshing.
nice photographs with excellent lines. Great work!
It is not easy to accept that wealth and poverty live together.
Thanks for the photos and your thoughts.
🙂
splendid work and u know the water problem in our country.
Interesting! Love the first shot!
Wow! look at those kerosene containers and water pots. Although there's a contrast about them against the palaces and mausoleums, they are lined up neatly, they still make pretty pictures.
Hi. This is my first visit to your home in the blogosphere and I truly enjoyed my visit. I was in India last year for three weeks so these pictures brought my memories to the forefront of my mind. Beautiful culture, incredible colors…and a reminder to take nothing for granted. I will be back to visit again!
Great post…I have something on my blog for you…check it out…!
Congrats!
It is hard to digest that people are still finding difficult to get the basic necessity, water.
Indrani, these are wonderful and so interesting pictures of Bijapur. I like very much the mosque. It's really sad that in the Third Millenium, with the great progress of mankind in all the fields, people have to stand in line for water.
I guess in the struggles of their daily life they are oblivious to the richness of the heritage that surrounds them. After all it is the present that matters, not the glorious past!
Lovely pictures, lovely commentary as always.
The Jama Masjid is stunning.
The other pictures made me sad – obviously the it is not the government's priority to make basic amenities easily available to the citizens.
The Jama Masjid is stunning.
The other pictures made me sad – obviously the it is not the government's priority to make basic amenities easily available to the citizens.
The rich past has now been reduced to plastic pots and queues for fuel!! Thats the contrast of our country, I guess..lovely post!
Beautiful architecture.. oh but the contrast is heartbreaking.
those pots are beautiful to look at.
what a true appreciation of water people must have living without a tap.
great post Indrani
best wishes
Ribbon
From the majestic pictures of the places of worship to the long lines in the queue for kerosene and water, these are very impressive photos.
There is real hardship in such places that we tend to forget about.
Thank you for reminding me.
Water is such a serious issue now and only going to get worse if enough attention is not paid to the issue. Having lived in Chennai, I know the value of water, and how it is to get it only intermittently!
Nice post Indrani. The cannon is awesome.Its a pity though about the shortages and the long queues. These wretched politicians never try to solve any of the problems – they are busy filling their pockets all the time.
rgds Ram
so sad to look at that queue for kerosene. But i love the rest of pictures. The first photo looks familiar since the mosque is omnipresent here in Indonesia.
I love the amazing doorway.
You did a great job contrasting the palaces and poverties.
Beautiful collections Indrani…ecsplly the Cans stacked up.
Long time back, I remember I used to stand in the que for kerosene and sugar…. Phew!!! seeing the same after a real long time! Nice pictures and great bit of information! 🙂
The hardships of the people on a daily basis is humbling. Great post!
All that (past) opulence next to grinding poverty. Beautiful photos.
that was a very insightful post! loved it!
Interesting coverage of Bijapur..
The mirhab is fabulous! Hard, that queue to the kerosene quota…
Hardships are everywhere.
Thanks for sharing.
Great shots.
So much beauty and poverty… You've captured the contrast very well.
The water pots looked so much better than kerosine pots. India has many faces.
You have a very beautiful country and I am determined to visit it one day. Like the Philippines, it is heartbreaking see such poverty at the other end of the spectrum. Great post, as always.
Unfortunately it was and is everywhere, the monuments and churches are rich and full of golden ornaments while the population had or has nothing to eat
Great post, Indrani
You always have wonderful photos
and wonderful information
to make them even more
beautiful and interesting 🙂
Those pots are very colorful 😉
those are really colorful. if given a chance, i would definitely explore your beautiful country.
The painting in the Masjid is beautiful. One should see this cannon in person. It is really huge.
It's so easy to forget how lucky we are to have our own running water inside. Wonderful post.
A city and a country of contrasts. I am glad you show both sides, the beauty and the realisation of the squalour behind the palaces.
Interesting to see the daily life in your country. The colourful and different pots really make the subject stands out. So sad that they have to queue for water and kerosene.
Indrani: That is too bad that in such a neat place people have to wait in line for essentials.
Beautiful pictures and how difficult that water is only sometimes available. Must be hard
I just love your blog. It provides me with a window into a world I will never see. Thank you for such informative and interesting posts.
An Arkies Musings
It is very humbling to see such historical places in modern day context.
quite informative post and the first pic is a good capture. Such is the irony of life, a place with rich history and culture but poor in basic necessity. We have the same irony in some of our places here.
My World is up here
As much as I love looking at Indian architecture, on this post, the display of pots on the side of the road attracted me the most.
Thanks for sharing.
learned what a mihrab is…always like learning something new.
enjoyed your post.
we so need to appreciate having water whenever.
have a wonderful weekend.
In my country, no one has to stand in line for water! I cannot imagine having to do that. Nor for fuel. Great shots!
Now that was interesting! Quite different from my world in the Netherlands, which is not so colourful with all those businesslike buildings. Thanks for your post.
I love the decorative archway, there is so much colour in India. Thanks for sharing:)
wow very primitive how does life improve in these places Is it government ? lack of Jobs?
Great shots and an interesting post. That must be hard to stand in line for a quota of kerosene.
Fascinating post and marvelous captures as always, Indrani! It's truly like making personal visit, and I do enjoy it so much!
Have a great week!
Sylvia
What a contrast between your photos. Beautiful architecture and details. I did not realize that kerosene is under quota.