Gulbarga Fort

The Gulbarga Fort is situated in Gulbarga, Karnataka. The fort is located on a plateau land and was built by Raja Gulchand during the warangal Dynasty rule, later the fort was enlarged by Al-ud-din Bahmani in 1347.The jama Masjid within the fort, which was built in 1367 is a unique structure built in Persian architecture. It was built to commemorate the establishment of the Bahmani kingdom during 1327-1424 period. The Chalukyas ruled the place for over two hundred years. Later it came under the reigns of yadavas of devagiri and the hoysalas of halebidu.

In the early 14th century the place was occupied by Muhammad bin tuglaq. Gulbarga was the capital of the Bahmani kingdom during 1347-1527.Then the fort was razed to ground by the Vijayanagar Empire, but was later rebuilt by yusuf adil shah. The mughal emperor aurangzeb captured the fort during the late 16th century. After that the fort and Gulbarga district became part of Hyderabad state under Nizam’s rule. In the year 1956,when the Indian state of Hyderabad was partitioned, most of gulbarga district became part of the then mysuru state. The fort area experiences a meagre average rainfall of 30.6 inch with only 46 normal rainy days. The climate is dry and cold in the winter, temperature during summer reaches a high of 45 degree Celsius and the minimum temperature is 5 degree c.

There is a tomb of the Sufi saint Syed Mohammad Gesu Daraz, popularly known as Kwaja Bande Nawaz, built in the Indo-Sarcenic style. The tomb is a large complex decorated with paintings; the arches of the Dargah are in Bahmani architecture while the paintings on the walls and ceiling have a fusion of Turkish and Iranian influence. The Mughals have also built a mosque close to the tomb. Every year an annual fair or Urs is held here in the month of November, which attracts large number of devotees. Gulbarga is well connected by railway lines and roads. It is an important rail head on the Central Southern Railway line which connects Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. Bangalore is 610 kilometres from Gulbarga and is well connected by roads. Hyderabad airport is the nearest airport and is 225 kilometres from Gulbarga.