A couple of months back I visited the Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur in Karnataka. I was at Solapur, visiting my relatives when this plan of going to Bijapur took shape. We started early in the morning. In about 3 hours or so we entered the Bijapur town. The Gol Gumbaz is visible right from the city entrance. It is very impressive structure built by Sultan Muhammad Adil Shah (AD 1627 –57). Sultan’s tomb lay beneath the floors of this structure. And he started its construction as soon as he came to throne. I was amazed by the sheer size of this monument wondering how in those old days they managed to construct it!
Though it looks like one building, the front cubical block is actually a museum and Gol Gumbaz is behind it. The monument itself is a huge cuboid with a dome on top. And this dome is one of the biggest in world.
The experience at the whispering gallery was awesome. One clap, one shout and 10+ echoes. It is simply amazing. Once again I could not help but think how could the engineers in those days conceptualized, designed and constructed this monument with such acoustic properties. It clearly indicates the advancement of architecture in those days.
At present the Gol Gumbaz is protected by Archaeological Society on India. The tickets worth just Rs. 5 per person help them to protect this site of historical importance.
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