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BHOPAL,
THE CAPITAL OF M.P. : Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh,
is a fascinating amalgam of scenic
beauty, old historic city and modern
urban planning. It is the 11th
century city Bhojpal, founded
by Raja Bhoj, but the present city was established
by an Afghan soldier, Dost Mohammed
(1707-1740). His descendants build
Bhopal into a beautiful city.
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CITY
OF LAKES : The two
lakes of Bhopal still dominate the
city, and are indeed its nucleus.
Bordered along their shores stand
silent sentinels that testify to
the growth of the city. Bhopal today
presents a multi-faceted profile
the old city with its marketplaces
and fine old mosques and palaces
still bears the aristocratic imprint
of its former rulers, among them
the succession of powerful Begums
who ruled Bhopal from 1819 to 1926.
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Equally
impressive is the new city with its
verdant, exquisitely laid out parks
and gardens, broad avenues and streamlined
modern edifices. It
is greener and cleaner than most cities
in the country. Few state capitals
in India have a history as eventful
as Bhopal. The city of Bhopal has
witnessed many changes since it was
found by the Afghan soldier Dost Mohammed
in the year 1708. The city has been
through many phases, gentle as well
as turbulent, prosperous as well as
disastrous. Bhopal has been a city
in which one finds traces of cultures
as different as those of Buddhists,
Hindus, Moguals and Afghans, all of
which have been blended to perfection,
providing Bhopal a distinct identity. |

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City
in Mid of India. Bhopal is 741 km from Delhi, 789
km from Mumbai, and about 200 kms
from Indore.Major Tourist attractions
like Kanha, Ujjain and Sanchi are
close by and well connected. Both
railway station and bus stand are
within easy walking distance of
the main hotel area along Hamidia
road.
Air
:- Bhopal is connected by regular Alliance
Air flights to Mumbai, Indore, Delhi
and Gwalior. Sahara Airlines connect
Bhopal with Delhi, Guwahati, Goa,
Indore and Lucknow. Airport is 15
km from the city center.
Rail
:- Bhopal is on one of the two main Delhi
to Mumbai railway lines and also on
the main line to the southern state
capitals of Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore
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Thiruvananthpuram. There are direct
trains to Amritsar and Jammu Tawi
and also to major towns in Madhya
Pradesh.
Road
:- There are extensive bus services (private
and state) to cities within the region
and interstate.
Climate
:- The
climate is moderate in Bhopal. The
summers are hot and winters cold.
But it does not face extreme weather
conditions.It rains moderately during
rainy season.The weather is pleasant
through out the year. |
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Taj-ul-Masajid
: This is
the largest mosque in the
country. The building of this
mosque was begun by Shah Jehan
Begum (1868-1901) but was
incomplete on her death and
was completed only after 1971.
The most impressive features
of the mosque are its main
hall with inter-arched roof,
broad facade, spacious courtyard,
and smooth marble flooring.
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Moti-Masajid
: Moti Masjid
is architecturally akin to
Jama Masjid in Delhi. It was
built in 1860 by the Sikandar
Jehan Begum daughter of Kudsia
Begum (Sikandar Jehan).
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Shaukat
Mahal & Sadar Manzil : Shaukat Mahal is situated at
the entrance to the Chowk area
in the heart of the city. It
was designed by a Frenchman,
said to be descendant of the
Bourbon kings of France. Shaukat
Mahal is an architectural marvel
and a cynosure of all eyes.
Sadar Manzil is the , Hall of
public audience of the former
rulers of Bhopal.
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Manav
Sangrahalaya (Museum of Man
kind) : An
open-air exhibition of tribal
house types located on Shamla
Hills. The exhibition highlights
the architectural features
and has elaborately displayed
interiors. The surroundings
have been reconstructed to
match some of the interesting
environmental features of
tribal villages. The habitat
is open every day except on
Mondays and national holidays
from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm.
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Upper
Lake : One
thousand years ago ,Bhopal
lake was built by late parmar
king Bhoj known as Upper lake.
There is a saying that once
king Bhoj suffered from skin
disease. All vaidya’s
failed to cure him. One day
a saint told king Bhoj to
build a tank to combine 365
tributaries and than have
a bath in it to wipe out the
skin disease. As per saints
version, king Bhoj called
upon his engineers to build
up a huge tank. They spotted
a place near river Betwa,
which was 32 K.M. away from
Bhopal. When this was measured
, it was found that it has
only 359 tributaries . A Gond
Commander Kalia fulfilled
this shortage. He than gave
the address of an invisible
river. After merging the tributaries
of this river the number 365
was completed. The Upper lake
is divided from the Lower
by an over bridge and is six
sq. km. in area. There are
facilities for exciting trips
by sail, paddle, and motor-boats.
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Birla
Mandir : Birla
Mandir is situated at the highest
point of Bhopal, atop area Hills.
Birla Mandir not only provides
a spiritual experience but also
a panoramic view of the breath
taking picturesque city of Bhopal.
It is a place where one can
have an overview of the entire
Bhopal city. The temple has
a museum attached to it where
there is a rich collection of
sculptures from Raisen, Sehore,
Mandsaur, and Shahdol districts
of Madhya Pradesh. |
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Fish
Aquarium : It is situated near
Raj-Bhavan and old assembly
hall. It came into existence
on 31st May,1977. Covering
one hectare area fish house
is built in fish like structure.
It attracts visitors a lot.
Fish house is a double storey
structure. Upper portion has
forty glass aquariums, where
various species of living
and colorful fishes can be
seen. In the Fish house you
can see Golden Shark,paradise
blue,Rosy Barb,King Kobra,Golden
plata,Golden Gormi, Tiger
Barb,Black Moor and King Zebra.
In the lower section are 26
big aquariums. Here is kept
collection of fishes brought
from state and national lakes,rivers
and ponds,Among these can
be seen Rohu, Katla, Mirgal,
Sawal, Padin, Collet, Ticto,
Pencil-Fira and Bam fish.
Fish hose is open for visitors
from 1st April to 30th Sept
from 1.00 PM to 8 PM and from
1st October to 31st March
from 12.00 PM to 7 PM.
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Capital's
Park : Park’s
beauty attract tourists. In
Bhopal, Main parks are Kamla
park,Vardhman park, Kilol park,
Karishma Park, Yadgare Shahjahani
park, Neelum park, Naunihal
park, Ekant park, Chinar park
and Nandan park. During evening
these parks are visited by by
citizen’s of the localities. |
BHEL
Township : The
sprawling industrial town of
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
(BHEL) spread over 19.56 sq.
kilometer and having a population
of about 1.5 lack, has a quaint
charm of its own. This modern
township has been maintained
with excellent amenities for
residential quarters,shopping
centres, hospitals, schools,
colleges, parks, clubs etc. |
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Bhoj
Tample : Founded by the legendary
Parmar King of Dhar, Raja Bhoj
(1010-1053), and named after
him, Bhojpur, 28 km from Bhopal,
is renowned for the remains
of its magnificent Shiva temple
and Cyclopean dam. |
The
temple which has earned the
nomenclature of the Somnath
of the east, is known as the
Bhojeshwar Temple. The temple
was never completed and the
earthen ramp used to raise it
to dome-level still stands.
Had it been completed, it would
have had very few rivals. As
it is, even with the ravages
of time, it remains one of the
best examples of temple architecture
of the 11th - 13th centuries. |
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