Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, Ahmedabad...

There I was, in the city that held so many fond memories- Ahmedabad. My first visit was back in 20015, when I spent a whole week here, just that back then I wasn't into this kind of travel mode and so did not explore the city too much.. Plus the agenda was different... 

This time around, I was here with nothing but travel and curiosity on the agenda... I was gonna spend two days in the city before moving on towards Bhuj and beyond!! On the 1st day, after breakfast and settling in, we decided to check out the International Kite Festival. While it was fun, it was quite hot and we walked around the place for an hour before making our way towards The House Of MG [Mangaldas].. A friend wanted to go check out the rooms and food, she had guests coming down in a few staying and staying at the property. The other 3 of us decided to wander the property and explore the area around before coming back for a cup of cool lime soda or chai. 

As you enter The House of MG, the first thing you see is the Menstrual tree installation and on the right side is the Tree of life.. Both are quite impactful, and on the tree of life , there was a board that spoke about the Jali work from the Sidi Saiyyed mosque. When we googled the place, we discovered it was right across from where we were standing. 

We hopped across, and entered the mosque premises, took off our shoes and wandered about the place. It is a fairly small space, and there is a marble board near the entrance that talks about when it was built and by who etc... 

The Sidi Saiyyed Mosque was built back in 1572-73 AD by Sidi Saiyyid....  The mosque is entirely arcuated and renowned for the ten intricately carved stone latticework windows or jalis as they are known. You will find these on the arches both inside and on the rear side. The intricately carved window with the Tree with intertwining branches is the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad's logo. The workmanship is just wow, mesmerising and almost looks like filigree work... The one surprising element was the small window in the center which is plain and has just a wall on it. I also heard that the place was not completed, as the Mughals invaded Gujarat by then. Even though this mosque is much smaller than the Jama Masjid, and does not have the huge courtyard, the craftsmanship and details across the structure is unparalleled.  

As we made our way out of the campus, we heard prayers from the speakers and people slowly piling in. I sent an image of the wall with the Tree on it to a friend who is from IIM and he replied "wow, I have heard of this place, but not visited in even once during my years studying at the campus".. :-) 

The traffic was crazy, and it took us a good few minutes to cross the road and take shade at the cafe in The House of MG and wait for our friend...