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Royal Orient Day3 (Friday)
Mehsana, Patan & Gandhi Ashram
Departure for Mehsana. Breakfast
Onboard at 0415 hrs. Arrival at Mehsana at 0645 hrs. Visit Sun Temple at Modhera. Visit Ran-ki-vav & Patola at
Patan . Departure for Ahmedabad at 1115 hrs. Arrival at
Ahmedabad at 1245 hrs. On arrival transfer to Hotel for Lunch. Sightseeing
of Ahmedabad, Adalaj Step-Well, Gandhi Ashram,
Calico Museum of Textiles, Sidi Sayyad Mosque, Shopping. Dinner Onboard.
Departure for Sasangir at 2015 hrs.
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Mehsana
At Mehsana you will see the Sun Temple at Modhera, built in 1026 AD by
Bhimadeva of the Solanki Rajput clan. The temple is one of the two Sun
Temples in the world- the being at Konark. It is an exemplary model of art
& architecture of the 11th century- a style that was to influence the
developement of temple architecture in neighbouring regions. Temple site
at Modhera, located on a high mound on the left bank of river Puspawati,
consist of three distinct units: the Sun Temple, the Nrityamandapa, and
the Suryakunda. In another part of temple you can see a whole Kama Sutra
of traditional erotic sculpture in a style that rivals that of Khajuraho
and Konark. Unlike Konark, which rests on 12 wheels of a chariot, Modhera
has been built on the petals of a lotus which runs the whole length of
temple.
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Another example of the Solanki-period architecture can be seen at the Ran-Ki-Vav
stepwell at Patan, some distance from the town centre. Built in 1050s and named
after Rani Udamati, the stepwells is oldest and perhaps the grandest among the
more than 120 stepwells in Gujarat. The stepwell was silted up for centuries and
only major excavation and restoration work in the 1980s helped expose its
glorious structure. In the chambers, where royal families came to rest in
summer, the water from the well served as a natural air-cooling system. No other
vav in India is so profusely adorned as the Ran-ki-vav. More than 800 sculptures
form a remarkable backdrop to what was purely a functional structure.
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The
beautiful ashram complex of Ahmedabad, with it's shady trees populated by
thousands of parakeets, beeeaters, sunbirds and squirells, offers a refuge
from the loud streets of the city, and is one the foremost tourist
attractions of Ahmedabad. Among all the monuments and memorials to Mahatma
Gandhi, from Dehli to Maharashtra, this is easily the most moving. This
ashram was Gandhi's headquarters during the long struggle for Indian
independence. His ashram was founded in 1915 and still makes handicraft,
handmade paper and spinning wheels. Gandhi's spartan living quarter are
preserved as a small museum and there is a pictorial record of the major
events in his life.
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Other Luxury
Train:--
Palace on wheels
Fairy Queen
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