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Explore
Aurangabad
Aurangabad Introduction |
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It's easy to see why many travellers regard Aurangabad as little more than a
convenient, though largely uninteresting, place in which to kill time on the
way to Ellora and Ajanta. First impression seem to confirm its reputation as
an industrial metropolis ; wide streets, fast traffic, ugly building sites,
and gaping patches of urban wasteland merge into a featureless ferroconcrete
sprwal. Yet, given a little effort, northern Maharashtra's largest city can
compensate for its architectural shortcomings. Scattered around its ragged
fringes, the dilapidated remains of fortifcations, gateways, domes and
minarets - including those of the most ambitious Moghul tomb garden in
western India, the Bibi-Ka-Maqbara -bear witness to an illustrious imperial
past, the small but fascinating crop of rock-cut Buddhist caves, huddled
along the flanks of the flat-topped, sandy yellow hills to the north, are
remnants of even more ancient occupation.
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Facts and Figures
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| Area |
10,107 sq. km. |
| Language |
English, Marathi, Hindi and Urdu |
| Rainfall |
557 m average yearly. |
| Temperature |
Summer : Max 39ēC, Min 21.5ēC.
Winter : Max 31.3ēC, Min 10ēC. |
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History
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The city, originally called Khadke, or "Big Rock", was founded in the early
16th century by Mailk Amber, an ex-Abyssinian slave and prime minister of
the independent Muslim kingdom of the Nizam Shahis, based at Ahmadnagar,
112km southwest. It was a perfect spot for a provincial capital : on the
banks of the River Kham, in a a broad valley seperating the then-forested
Sahyadri Range to the north from the Satharas to the south, and at a
crossroads of the religion's key trade routes. Many of the mosques and
palaces erected by Malik Amber still endure, albeit in ruins.
Buddhism was introduced to this region during the reign of the powerful
Mauryan Emperors and its rapid acceptance is evident in the profusion of
Buddhist cave temples found in and around modern aurangabad. The Hindu
temples of Ellora built by the kings of the Satvahana and Rashtrakuta
dynasties predate the influx of Buddhism. Strategically located in the
centre of India, the region was considered the safest from the marauding
armies of the Afghan and Central Asian raiders. The Tughlaq King Mohammed
bin Tughlaq of the Delhi Sultanate moved his capital from Delhi, along with
the citizens to this area in the 14th century but failed due to
poor logistical planning. |
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How to Reach Aurangabad
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Air : Aurangabad is connected by Indian Airlines
flights with Bombay, Delhi, Jaipur and Udiapur.
Road : Aurangabad is directly connected by rail
with Bombay, Manmad and Nasik Road.
Rail : Aurangabad is well connected by good
motorable road with Ajanta. |
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Best Season
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The climate of aurangabad is temperate with
moderate winters in the months of November-February and hot summers from
April through to June. The summers are hot and winters are warm. But it is
better to come here between October and March. |
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