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The fort is surrounded by a 5km long battlement
Along the way from Ajanta
fancier houses
This is obviously the first cave that you reach while visiting Ajanta. Inside are several extremely interesting frescos of Buddhist origin that date from the 2nd century A.D. During my visit, the lighting in the cave was enhanced by television lights as some TV program was producing documentry on the caves at the time.
Bibi-ka-Maqbara is a popular tourist site for Indians as well as westerners. Equally present at the site are young children on school trips to teach them the glorious history of their hometown. Much like elsewhere in India, these friendly children were most intrigued by the sight of a westerner carrying a camera; in fact, I was probably more fascinating to them than the magnificent mausoleum itself! Attached are photos of the children I encountered. Naturally, I had to show the photo on the digital screen to each of them!
The red, 60 metres tall, minaret Chand Minar is easy to spot and you will walk pass it on your way up the mountain slope. The minaret has four floors with a spiral stairway, but it is not open to visitors. The base is rectangular. It is a Tower of Victory and was built to commemorate the conquest of the fort in 1435 by Ala-ud-din Bahmani. It has been used as a watch tower and also for call to prayer. There is a small mosque just next to the minaret.
This caves are located to the left of the entrance, are newer than the Buddhist (600-870 AC) and can be visited for free. Numbers 17-29.
Some of them are quite empty and covered with plants and trees, as the one in the pic.
Located at the centre of the garden, the central mausoleum stands on a raised platform with four oversized decorative minarets, one at each corner. The actual shrine is square and is crowned by a large onion-shaped dome, which is surrounded by four smaller ones and a small minaret at each corner. Each façade contains a large central iwan flanked by two smaller arched porticoes. The structure was built using marble and basalt, both beautifully decorated with floral patterns. The marble utilised in its construction was transported to Aurangabad from Jaipur, but it is said that when funds for the project declined, the architect substituted marble with basalt to complete the construction. Still, this did not take away the splendour of the final work. For a more detailed look at the carved marble and stucco patterns, check out the travelogue: "Bibi-ka-Maqbara - Architectural Details."
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