By Isla Quinn
Walk in at dawn and the old city is mostly doors. Big ones, small ones, gateways across whole streets. This is the pol, the gated lane that makes the walled city of Ahmedabad unlike its neighbours.
The founding
UNESCO’s listing says the city was founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah in 1411 on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati river, and that it stayed the capital of Gujarat for six centuries. Wikipedia is more exact about the day. It says the foundation was laid on 26 February 1411 at Manek Burj, and that the sultan chose the site as his capital on 4 March 1411 and named it after himself. Wikipedia adds that the area was earlier called Ashaval, and that Karnavati was founded nearby.
What a pol is
Here the sources are close but not identical. UNESCO calls the pol a self-sufficient gated street. Wikipedia describes a housing cluster of many families from one group, linked by caste, profession or religion, and says the first pol in Ahmedabad was Mahurat Pol. Outlook Traveller, a travel magazine, says pols were built for community and safety, each with a place of worship, a community well and a bird feeder. We report all three and do not merge them.
Timber
UNESCO calls the timber-based architecture of the historic city of exceptional significance and its most unique heritage feature. It names the 15th-century Sultanate buildings as a provincial style found nowhere else on the subcontinent. Its figures for protection are specific: 28 monuments listed by the Archaeological Survey of India, one by the state archaeology department, and 2,696 important buildings recorded by the municipal corporation. The inscribed property covers 535.7 hectares, with a buffer zone of 395.
Where the old city meets the river
Wikipedia says the Sabarmati divides Ahmedabad into eastern and western halves, and that the walled old city sits on the eastern bank. It adds that the river often dried up in summer and that a riverfront project now diverts water from the Narmada to keep it flowing all year.
A morning walk
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation runs a guided morning heritage walk, and Gujarat Tourism describes it as running from the Swaminarayan temple in Kalupur to the Jama Masjid. Outlook Traveller describes it as about 2 km with nearly 20 stops, passing havelis, two royal mausoleums and Manek Chowk, which the magazine says is a vegetable market in the morning, a jewellery trade in the afternoon and a food street after 8 pm. It describes the Jama Masjid as yellow sandstone with calligraphy on its columns and lotus-carved central domes. Start times and booking arrangements change, so check with the municipal corporation’s heritage site or Gujarat Tourism before you go. The magazine also notes that shoulders, chest, navel, upper arms and knees must be covered at temples and mosques.
Winter and kites
Wikipedia gives the November to February average maximum as 30 °C and the average minimum as 13 °C, with January a little cooler. It says Uttarayan, a harvest festival, brings kite-flying on 14 and 15 January. Our reading: winter is the kinder season for walking the lanes, and the kite days put the sky to work. That is our inference, and no source says it.
Cloth city
Wikipedia records that the first Indian textile mill, the Ahmedabad Spinning and Weaving Company, was founded on 30 May 1861, and that about 33 mills stood in the city by 1905, earning it the name Manchester of India. It also mentions the Calico Museum of Textiles, with a large collection of Indian and international fabrics. We found no opening details and give none.
Dates in order
- 26 February 1411: foundation laid, according to Wikipedia.
- 4 March 1411: site chosen as capital, according to Wikipedia.
- 30 May 1861: first textile mill, according to Wikipedia.
- 1905: about 33 mills, according to Wikipedia.
- July 2017: World Heritage inscription, according to UNESCO and Outlook Traveller.
Side by side
UNESCO writes the founder’s name as Ahmad and, on other pages, Ahmed; Wikipedia uses Ahmed. UNESCO and Wikipedia agree on 1411.
What kind of sources these are
UNESCO’s World Heritage listing, Wikipedia, a travel magazine feature, and the walk’s own tourism pages. The Wikipedia page on the walled city itself did not load.
What we left out
Walk prices, mosque-building history, politics and any claim about what the pols hold today.
Quick answers
When was Ahmedabad founded? UNESCO says 1411, by Sultan Ahmad Shah on the Sabarmati’s eastern bank. Wikipedia gives 26 February 1411 for the foundation.
What is a pol? UNESCO calls it a self-sufficient gated street. Wikipedia calls it a housing cluster of families linked by caste, profession or religion.
When did Ahmedabad become a World Heritage site? UNESCO and Outlook Traveller both place the inscription in July 2017.
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Roam first. Shop later.