India Travel
Chunar and Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh
From their vantage point at the northern extremity of the Kaimur Hills, the impressive sandstone battlements of CHUNAR overlook a bend in the Ganges before the river curves north to Varanasi, 22km away. Evidence of the earliest occupation of the site dates it from Vikramaditya of Ujjain in 56 BC. Chunar sandstone has been used for centuries, most famously in Ashokan pillars - highly polished for sheen and longevity - and is still quarried, leaving the surrounding hills ravaged in places.
The almost impregnable citadel, protected by massive Moghul ramparts, looks down onto the river, graced by a beautiful beach of silver sand during the dry season; the views at sunset are stunning. Akbar stormed the fortress in 1575. and it was presided over by the nawabs of Avadh until the British took it in 1764. Chunar is also associated with Warren Hastings, who took refuge here from a11 uprising in 1781; a large British graveyard lies near the western gate bv the river. The ramparts and huge gates aside, the buildings themselves are unremarkable, except for a picturesque pavilion, built as a gatehouse and now a pWD bungalow, it makes an atmospheric and inexpensive stopover (O-0), bookable through the PWD at Mizrapur or by a private arrangement with the choukidar (caretaker) who may also be able to arrange food.
The best way to get to Chunar is by local bus from, Godaulia to Chunar Ghat, 22km south, from where a pontoon bridge crosses to Balu Ghat, at the base o£ the fortress. During the rainy season, the bridge is dismantled and a ferry takes its place.
Few tourists visit the large dusty town of JAUNPUR, 65km northwest of Varanasi, and founded by Feroz Shah in 1360.The city flourished until a ruthless onslaught by Sikander Lodi spared only its remarkable mosques - built in a unique hybrid style, using the remains of previous Hindu and Buddhist structures - and later returned to prominence under the Moghuls.
The River Gomti, which bisects Jaunpur, is spanned by the massive sixteenth-century Akbari Bridge congested with hawkers and choked with traffic. Designed by an Afghan architect, the stone structure’s fifteen arches have withstood floods and earthquakes; at its southern end, a large sculpture of a lion tussling with an elephant doubles as a provincial milestone.
The older sector, north of the river, is the site of Feroz Shah’s original Port, whose stone walls still show traces of coloured and glazed-brick cladding, and the remnants of masonry from an earlier Hindu temple. Little remains of its towers, blown up by the British in 1857. Around 350m north of the bridge, Atala Mosque is the earliest and finest example of the architecture of the independent Sharqi dynasty. Built by Sultan Ibrahim Sharqi in 1408, and incorporating the remains of the temple of Atala Devi, it holds two-storeyed cloisters, large arches and an open-pillared veranda. Along with three handsome gateways, the most impressive feature of the mosque is the three pylons of the prayer hall’s central arch.
Less than lkm north, the ambitious Jami Masjid (Friday Mosque), built by Sultan Hussain Shah Sharqi (1458-79), sits on a high plinth. Approached by steep steps, its prayer hall has an imposing square chamber capped with a lofty dome, with remnants of Hindu structures embedded in the cloisters and walls. Around 6km northwest of Akbari Bridge, the squat Lai Darwaza Mosque, built around 1450 by Bibi Raji, the queen of Sultan Muhammad Shah (1436-58), is a cut-down version of Atala Mosque, with just one dome over its prayer hall and an almost square arch.
What basic accommodation and food is available is concentrated around the Fort. Most visitors come from Varanasi for the day: both trams and buses take two hours.
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