The solid fortified citadel, Bhadra, built of deep red stone in 1411 AD as Ahmedabad's first Muslim structure, is relatively plain in comparison to later mosques. The palace inside is now occupied by offices and off-limits to tourists, but you can climb to its roof via a winding staircase just inside the main gateway and survey the streets below from behind its weathered bastions.

A prominent feature on the front of glossy city brochures, Sidi Sayyid's Mosque, famed for the ten magnificent 'jali' screens lining its upper walls sits in the centre of a busy traffic circle in the northwest corner of Bhadra .

The Exquisite Jali Work
A prominent feature on the front of glossy city brochures, Sidi Sayyid's Mosque, famed for the ten magnificent 'jali' screens lining its upper walls sits in the centre of a busy traffic circle in the northwest corner of Bhadra. The two semicircular screens high on the western wall are the most spectacular, with floral designs exquisitely carved out of the yellow stone so common in mosques.

The eastern face is open, revealing a host of pillars that divide the hall into heroes and animals from popular Hindu myths - one effect of Hindu and Jain craftsmanship on an Islamic tradition that rarely allowed the depiction of living beings in its mosques. The gardens around it afford good views of the screens. Women cannot enter this mosque.

The Shaking Minarets are two minarets located at the Sidi Bashir mosque, near the Sarangpur Gate and about 1.5 kilometers south of railway station of this city, in the state of Gujarat. They are uniquely designed in a way that when one minaret is shaken the other one shakes too.

Unique Feature
If one of the minaret is shaken the other vibrates too, as if following the principal of resonance. In an experiment, a small ball was hung to one of the minarets and when the other minaret was shaken, the hanging ball on the other exhibited swinging effect.

The famous shaking minarets aroused so much curiosity in British rulers that one of the minaret was dismantled by them, in vain, to fathom the secret of its construction and the mystery behind the swinging effect.

The Architecture
This is a unique historical architectural marvel in the state of Gujarat. Each minaret is three storeyed with delicately carved balanced stone balconies, which girdle the minarets of each storey. These minarets are about 21.34 meters high.

Mystery About its Original Builder
Though popularly named after Sidi Bashir, a favourite slave of Sultan Ahmad Shah I, it is perhaps likely, the builder was Malik Sarang, a noble of Sultan Mahmud Shah Begada's court in whose name the adjoining locality of Sarangpur was built. Malik Sarang was a Rajput Hindu converted to Islam under the influence of Sultan and later became the Governor of the city, in 1521 AD, during the reign of Muzaffar Shah II (1511-1526 AD). Popularly these are called as Siddi Bashir Minars.

Described by some as the most beautiful mosque in India, Jumma Masjid is situated in the centre of the old city. The congregational mosque was built by the city's founder, Sultan Ahmed Shah in 1423/1424 AD. Built in yellow sandstone, it combines the best of Hindu and Muslim styles of architecture. It stands on pillars that support domes at varying elevations. The mosque is located in the centre of the old city.

An Architectural Marvel
The vast paved courtyard is a rectangle about seventy-five metres by sixty-six metres. The whole of the western chamber is a big hall. It stands on 260 pillars all carved from Hindu and Jain traditions, supporting 15 domes at varying elevations.

The central courtyard is accessible from the East, though there are three ways on the other side too. The Eastern side entrance leads to another enclosure containing the mausoleum of Sultan Ahmed Shah. The mosque is an architectural triumph.

The Tombs
Also near the Eastern entrance stands the 'roja' or the tomb of the Sultan Ahmed Shah. This tomb was a homage to the Sultan by his son Mohammed Shah II. The tomb houses the graves of three of the greatest rulers of Gujarat - Ahmed Shah I, his son, Mohammed Shah and his grandson, Qutub-Ud-Din Ahmed Shah II.

After a passage of 100 years, the tomb was repaired by a nobleman by the name of Farhatul Maluk, who also got the walls of the mosque engraved. Today after centuries of heat and rough weather, the Jumma Masjid stands unchallenged and serves as a prayer place for numerous Muslims residing in the city.

Hathee Sing Temple was built outside Delhi Gate in 1850 by a rich Jain Merchant. This is the best known of many ornate Jain Temples. Built of pure white marble and profusely decorated with rich carvings, the Hathee Singh Temple is dedicated to Dharamanath, the 15th Jina or Jain apposite. .

Near Astodia Darwaja in the south of the city, the small and elegant mosque of Rani Sipri was built in 1514 AD at the queen's behest. Her grave lies in front, sheltered by a pillared mausoleum. The stylish mosque shows more Hindu influence than any where in this city, with several Hindu carvings and an absence of arches. Its pillared sanctuary has an open façade to the east and fine travery work on the west wall.