I have been thinking of writing for a long time but it is not being written. Today I am trying to write a little.
India is the first choice of many like me when it comes to touring. I see a lot of stories of traveling to India in a group, very nice to read. But, the place I have never seen anyone write about, today I will write about that trip to Aurangabad. I gave the tour in 2016, I forgot a lot, so there is no mention of cost in this article. Good to say it was a solo tour of ours. And our team had a total of 16 people, big and small.

Aurangabad
When the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb was the ruler of the Deccan, he founded this city of Aurangabad and named it ‘Aurangabad’ after himself. Aurangabad is called ‘The City of Gates’. The city has many entrances and each has a Mughal ‘archway’. Although there were 52 gates at the time, there are only 13 gates left at present. The largest and oldest of these is the Vadkal Gate. In fact, when Aurangzeb started staying here to strengthen the rule in the Deccan, the whole city was walled up for security reasons. These gates are in the middle of that wall. Now, of course, there is very little left of the wall. However, the uniqueness of the ancient Mughal city is still visible in all parts of the city.

First day:
We stayed in Aurangabad for two days and spent the whole time wandering around. After entering the city, we first went to the hotel to freshen up and then fixed the car for 2 days. After eating and drinking, I went to 5 spots on the first day. These are:
1. Seneri Mahal
2. Aurangabad University
3. Aurangabad Cave
4. Bibi-ka-maqbara
5. Pan Chakki

Soneri Mahal
The Seneri Mahal is named after the gold-colored design of this Mahal. This palace is also known as “Golden Place”. The palace was once painted in full gold. However, in the evolution of time, that color has now disappeared. This two-storeyed palace was sometimes used as a court hall during the reign of Emperor Aurangabad. If you enter this neat palace, you can guess the situation by looking at its arch. The archway, built to suit the battlefield, still seems to hold that time. This is a rectangular door. The arch is called Hatikhana which means the place of elephants. Although the arch is built like an Islamic style arch, the palace is built in Rajput style. Upon entering the main entrance, a beautiful garden and a fountain can be seen. Although now there is no water in the fountain. This ancient historical palace has now been converted into a museum, where various Indian antiquities, antiques of everyday use by the Mughals are kept. Several sculptures and reliefs from local excavations are also on display.

Aurangabad University

Leaving Seneri Mahal, we went to Aurangabad University. The real name of the university is Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. Built on an area of ​​more than 625 acres at the foot of the hill, the university was built around the village of Soneri Mahal. And on the north side of it is ‘Bibi-ka-maqbara’. Its pleasant environment, excellent natural beauty. But I could not spend much time there.

Aurangabad Cave

Then I went to Aurangabad Cave. This cave is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 10 caves are divided into two groups here. The cave and its surroundings looked very beautiful. There was a cool breeze blowing through the hills all the time. The city of Aurangabad can be seen after standing in this cave.

Bibi-ka-maqbara

The Bibi-ka-Maqbara, 3 km from the city, is called the ‘Little Taj Mahal’ or ‘Mini Taj Mahal’. The Taj Mahal may have been called the smaller Taj Mahal because it was actually built. It is the tomb of Begum Rabia-ud-Durrani, the fourth wife of Emperor Aurangzeb. According to the guide, the chief architect of Bibi-Ka-Maqbara is Ustad Ata Ullah.
Originally ‘Bibi Ka Makraba’ was built by Azam Shah, the son of Emperor Aurangzeb, inspired by the Taj Mahal in Agra. Bibi-ka-makbara looks a lot like the Taj Mahal but a bit smaller in size. And the difference with the Taj Mahal is that it is not made entirely of marble like the Taj Mahal, the top is painted after adding some marble to the bottom. During the construction, Azam Shah’s goal was to surpass the Taj Mahal in beauty and build ‘Bibi Ka Maqbara’. But due to the lack of sufficient treasury or skilled workers like Dada Shahjahan, this Bibi Ka Maqbara was built in a much more dignified condition than the Taj Mahal in beauty. Moreover, Azam Shah’s father was not very interested in the architecture of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Even at an early stage, Aurangzeb was not interested in building another expensive structure like the Taj Mahal. And in order to prevent this installation, he forbade the transportation of stones from Rajasthan and other places in the Mughal Empire. However, Azam Shah was so keen to build a more beautiful structure than the Taj Mahal as a memorial to his mother that he won the case against his father Aurangzeb and started the construction of this Bibi Ka Maqbara. When Nizam Sikandar Jahan ruled in Aurangabad and Marawada in 1803, he was so fascinated by the beauty of Bibi Ka Maqbara that he asked the palace to move it to its capital, Hyderabad. He ordered the slabs of the palace to be removed one by one. However, he did not do so later for some unknown reason but later built a mosque west of the main structure.

Pan Chakki

After visiting Bibi-Ka-Maqbara, I went to see Pan Chakki. Pan Chakki is basically known as a water tap. A big wheel is spinning like a wheelNight. It is watering at a nice speed. It demonstrates the process of scientific thought displayed in medieval Indian architecture. It was designed to produce energy through water coming down from a mountain. Attached to the shrine of Sufi saint Baba Shah Shah Musafir, the building is located in a garden near Mahmud Darwazar. It has a mosque, a madrasa, a minister’s house, a tavern, and two large ponds. See the camp again. Before the prayers, the worshipers sit here and perform ablution. There is also a mosque here. There is also the tomb of Baba Shah Musafir, the Sufi guru of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
We got out of here and did some shopping. Then I went to the hotel and freshened up and walked around the hotel. I did some shopping. It is good to say that fruits are quite cheap in Aurangabad. Along the way, we saw Vedana / Pomegranate orchards, Maltese orchards. So we bought some fresh fruit from the local market. Then I went back to the hotel to eat at night and planned the next day and fell asleep.