Ahmedabad

Only in India would there be a city of several million that you had never heard of. But over the Diwali break I has headed to one of those. Ahmedabad. A city it took three people about 10 tries to teach me how to pronounce correctly on the bus out to the plane. A city that is home to some extraordinary wood and stone carving.  When you wander through the old poles (ethnic/religious neighborhoods) of the city it is easy to spot the old houses as they are covered in carvings. Sometimes just geometric designs, flowers and such but just as often images of dragons, lions, peacocks, horses and gryphons. The detail was amazing and meant I had a hard time keeping my eyes on where I was walking as all I wanted to do was keep looking up. At certain corners you would find a birdhouse standing proud, structures built to allow the residents to leave food and water for the birds in an area where trees were not all that common. And yes, I did see some residents pouring water into bowls when we took an early morning walking tour. But the most spectacular sight of all was the stone carvings. The trees of life which could be found as adornment on the Jami  Masjid mosque and the absolutely stunning carved windows of the Sidi Saiyyed mosque. I could have stood in awe for an hour just appreciating the design and work that had gone into those. Really made it worth the journey to Ahmedabad even if it that wasn't the purpose of our trip (that will have to come in another post though).