Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad Travel Guide: History, Structure, Places to Visit Nearby, Stay Options, How to Reach (2024)
Jama Masjid is in Ahmedabad. It is a popular spot for religious tourism and an important religious destination in Islam. If you plan to visit this Masjid, read on to know what to expect and make your experience better than you’d expect.
The Jama Masjid is one of the oldest structures in Ahmedabad. The Ruler of Gujarat, Ahmad Shah, commissioned it sometime in the 1400s.
Jama Masjid Ahmedabad: History & Structure
The Jama Masjid comprises a courtyard and a prayer hall, and other structures. The Masjid is in the middle of the Ahmedabad city, so it is easy to access. The color all around is light brown. The verandah is of marble. You see inscriptions and sculptures all over the pillars, the arches, and the walls of the Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad. The prayer area in the Jama Masjid has more than two fifty pillars. With fifteen domes, the walk through the prayer hall is a scintillating experience. Experts concede that it could be the largest mosque in the South Asia region.
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There’s a story about the name of the several Jama masjids that you see all over the country. The Muslims pray every five days, on Friday, which is Jumma in Urdu. So, the Jumma or the Jama masjid is the one where the Muslims go to pray every Friday and therefore is quite opulent. These mosques are also sometimes regarded as the Jama masjid, as the term ‘Jama’ means gathering in Indian languages.
As you move around, you will see sculptures and inscriptions of the Jain and Gujarati kind of architecture as well. The large dome here is in the shape of an inverted lotus. The dome has some intricate carvings and sculptures. The architecture is novel, as several of the props you see here are visible in Hindu temples.
Therefore, Jama Masjid is one of the few Islamic structures that have Hindu – Islamic architecture. That’s the reason you see the carvings and sculptures of individuals, and not just of trees, leaves, and other similar designs. The Jama Masjid is a three-storeyed structure. There’s a separate prayer hall for women at the Masjid, on the first floor.
Like other mosques, the Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad has a water body that’s for religious ablutions. Because of the popularity of the Masjid, the water body is large. You will also see the tombs of the royal family at the back of the Masjid.
You can spend around an hour at the Masjid. However, you can spend more time here if you explore the intricate carvings and the structure in general. The carvings and the sculptures are similar to some of the Hindu and Jain temples in Gujarat and Maharashtra. This kind of architecture, that sees Hindu as well as Islamic carving structures is seen in some other mosques in Gujarat.
The Jama Masjid provides a calming, serene experience for anyone who visits the Masjid. It is one of the most popular tourist and religious tourist locations in Ahmedabad and Gujarat.
The authorities are maintaining the Masjid well, and the people visiting the Masjid won’t feel hassled and will have a comfortable experience here. Visiting the Jama Masjid is a calming and serene experience. If you want to strictly only explore the Masjid, you can spend about an hour, but there’s no upper limit on the number of hours you will spend here if you like to take in a calm, serene and divine experience, all in the heart of the Ahmedabad city.
The set up of the Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad is in line with the other Masjids that we see. In the middle is a rectangular courtyard with a water body for the religious ablutions. There’s an inner structure on the three sides, and the prayer hall is on the fourth side.
Places To Visit Near Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad
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There are other places that you can visit very near to the Masjid, like the ruler Ahmed Shah I’s tomb and the graves and tombs of the King’s wives.
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The Jama Masjid is in Ahmedabad, and therefore there are several places that you can visit nearby. You can spend some time at Kankaria Lake. You can also visit Mahatma Gandhi’s house, the Sabarmati Ashram. While you are there, you can also spend some time at the Sabarmati Riverfront. Nearby, you have the Auto World Vintage Car Museum. You can also visit Teen Darwaza and Manek Chowk, which are nearby.
All of these places are nearby, and you can easily visit them if you plan to spend a day or two in Ahmedabad. You will even get planned tourist visits that cover these places.
You can easily spend a whole day in Ahmedabad and even a weekend, if you plan to visit more places of tourist interest.
Stay Options Near Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad
Several hotels in Ahmedabad will offer you a stay at a range of prices. The costs of the room vary from 1000 rupees for a night to Rs. 7000 INR. If you are looking to book a hotel room online, make sure that you check out the services and their rules and regulations. Some hotels don’t allow unmarried couples, while others don’t allow groups of only men. They might be pretty open about the former on the online booking page, but they might reveal the latter only if you call them, so do that at your earliest and before booking the rooms online.
How to Reach Jama Masjid?
Address: Manek Chowk, Gandhi Rd, Danapidth, Khadia, Ahmedabad, Gujarat -380001
The Jama Masjid is in Ahmedabad, so you don’t have to make a lot of travel arrangements. Ahmedabad is one of the most popular cities in the country, and it connects well with other cities and states in India. Ahmedabad has an airport, and it is a train station on rail routes that connect Mumbai, Bangalore, and other destinations. When it comes to the airways, Ahmedabad has more than nine flights flying every day to Mumbai. If you plan to travel to Ahmedabad via bus, you will find several bus routes that connect Ahmedabad as well.