Aurangabad

Aurangabad - The City Of Caves
Aurangabad, the ancient city of Mughals, is now famous as a base for a visit to the World Heritage Sites of Ajanta and Ellora. In fact, Aurangabad has a number of tourists attractions and not so overshadowed by the famous Ajanta and Ellora caves. Situated on the right bank of the Kham River, the city is the district headquarters of Ahmedabad districts. Aurangabad has a long artistic and cultural history, contibuted by several dynasties over the years. The city, named after the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, houses several monuments and boasts of a rich culture. Under the regime of Aurangzeb, the town was the seat of the powerful Mughal Empire and became the only city apart from Delhi to serve as the capital of India. From anceint times Aurangabad has been a place of great importance due to its location on the popular 'Silk Route' between Asia and Europe. Textiles, emroidered finery and various kinds of bead manufactured in the area were exported to countries like Greece, Rome and Egypt. Aurangabad's strategic position in the Deccan plaueau provided it the name of 'Khidki' meaning window, serving as an opening through which North India could look into the area.


Major Attractions
Bibi ka Maqbara : Situated to the north of the city, this is an interesting building and the only example of Mughal architecture in the region. Built in 1679 by Aurangzeb's son for Rabia-ud-Darani, wife of Emperor Aurangzeb, the tomb is an excellent example of Persian architecture. Referred to as the poor man's Taj, the tomb is a poor imitation of the Taj Mahal both in design and execution.

Aurangabad Caves : Built around the 6th or 7th century, these caves are located a couple of kilometres north of Bibi ka Maqbara. There are nine caves, five in the western group and four in the eastern group and all are Buddhist. The iconography and acrhitecutral desings of the caves depict the influence of Tantric cult. Aurangabad caves have interesting figures and sculptures, especially the figures of women, scantily clad but ornately bejewelled. There is also a lage figure of Buddha in the Cave No. 6.

Pan Chakki : This water mill or Pan Chakki was designed to grind grain for pilgrims. The water from a nearby spring was used to operate this mill. In 1624, a Sufi saint, a spiritual guide to Aurangzeb, was buried here and the pleasant garden with fish-filled tanks serves as his memorial.


Excurisons
Ellora Caves : The world famous caves of Ellora are situated at a distance of about 34 kms from Aurangabad. There are 34 caves at Ellora - 12 Buddhists, 17 Hindu and five Jain, which are famous as the masterpieces of sculpture. The caves are cut into a hillside running north to south. It is thought that Buddhist caves were constructed around 600 to 800 A.D, the Hindu caves were built around 900 A.D, while the Jain caves were completed by 1000 A.D.

Ajanta Caves : Located 99 kms away from Aurangabad, the Ajanta caves were built during the Gupta period, between the 2nd and 1st century B.C. The caves of Ajanta are all Buddhist, and are famous for its magnificent paintings. The cave paintings intially suffered some deterioration after their discovery but they have been carefully preserved now.


How To Reach
By Air : Aurangabad airport is located 10 kms east of the city. Both Indian Airlines and Jet Airways operate daily flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.

By Rail : Aurangabad railway station is connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Secunderabad and other important places of the country. Regular trains are available from Mumbai and nearby places to reach Aurangabad.

By Road : A good network of roads connect Aurangabad with major towns and cities of Maharashtra and other parts of India.

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