Ajmer Travel, Rajasthan

The strategic position of this city has been the key to its long, and rather turbulent history. Ajmer is connected to Delhi, Agra, Ahmedabad, Abu, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaipur, by main highways. It was a key centre of Chauhan power, along with the twin capital of Delhi. However, with Prithviraj Chauhan's defeat at the hands of Sultan Mohammed Ghori (1193), Ajmer was rendered vulnerable to many an invasion and gory battles.

Ajmer has been, for time immemorial, a great centre of pilgrimage, for both Hindus and Muslims, a feature that gives the city its character. The city is a genuine amalgam of rich Hindu and Islamic heritage. The sacred lake of Pushkar believed by Hindus, to be as old as the temple of Brahma, has been a place of pilgrimage, for ages. The great Sufi saint Khwaja Moin-ud-din-Chisti of Persia, was buried here, and his Dargah is equally sacred for the followers of Islam, as well as Hinduism.

What To See

The Dargah
In the heart of the city, is the tomb of saint Khwaja Moin-ud-din-Chisti, popularly known as Dargah Sharief. It has been, for long, a pilgrimage and spiritual centre, where followers of every creed and faith, Muslims and non - Muslims, flock to, all through the year. The shrine of Khwaja Moin-ud-din-Chisti, is considered to be a second Mecca/Madena, for the Muslims of South Asia.

Shah Jahan's Mosque
This mosque is the most beautiful of all the structures, in the Dargah precinct. It is made of white marble, delicately carved with trellis-work.

Adhai-din-ka-Jhonpra
Beyond the Dargah, among narrow and crowded lanes, is a remarkable, early Islamic structure, the Adhai - din - ka - Jhonpra. Mohammed Ghori, with the remains of several neighbouring temples, hurriedly put together, a mosque within two and a half days (Adhai Din). Pillars, from at least thirty temples, must have gone into the making of this elegant monument, a superb example of Indo-Islamic architecture.

The Museum
Emperor Akbar's royal residence, now serves as a museum, which houses an excellent collection of Mughal and Rajput armour, and some fine sculpture.