MAUSOLEUM OF AHMED SHIEKH GANJ BAKSH KHATTU
The Sufi mystic, Ahmed Khattu "Ganj Baksh" (bestower of wealth) is venerated as a saint even today. Therefore, his commemorative tomb, which is also known as dargah in the local language is of symbolic as well as spiritual value. One of the largest of its kind in Gujarat, one of its sides measures up to 105 ft.
Roofed by a large central dome, it is surrounded by rows of 13 domes on each side. The central square, on which the dome stands has double pillars. The fifth aisle from any corner is narrower than the others. The walls are panelled with trellised windows of perforated stone works in a variety of designs.
Over the main entrance of the mausoleum is a quatrain written in person on the marble which when translated reads as:
"When the ocean of Ahmed's palm pours forth its pearls,
The skirt of hopes, becomes the treasure of Parvis:
No wonder, if in order to bend before his shrine,
The whole surface of the earth raises its head."
On the right side of the entrance, Shaikh Salahuddin, the Sajda-nashin of the Saint lies buried. The mausoleum has a spacious compound. To its southwest corner, about 30 feet away, stands the Jama Masjid. Life and teachings of Saikh Ahmed Ganj Baksh Khattu.
MASJID
MASJID "Its beauty is due to its chaste simplicity and classic restraint: and indeed considered on its merit as a pillared hall, it is difficult to imagine how it could have been improved upon." - Sir John Marshall-In appearance and architecture, it is a simple pillared hall, with domes of uniform height and arches and minarets conspicuously absent. Observing this style, it can be inferred that the masons, stone cutters and sculptors must have been local in origin, but had not yet imbibed the saracenic ideas of minarets and arches found in buildings of later origin.
With its main entrance in the east, the masjid has another door to the south falling into the water tank. The dimensions of the Masjid are as follows:
-Prayer hall: 185' x 66'.
-Open court-yard between the prayer hall and the main entrance: 171' x 150.
-Total area: 4300 sq yards.
-5 large domes in a row and forty smaller ones symmetrically disposed, corresponding to the pillared squares within. -The roof is supported by 120 pillars of the same pattern.
The Masjid is surrounded by corridors on three sides, connected with the prayer hall. A spacious balcony looks onto the tank on its southern side. Its special feature is that it contains a special apartment for ladies in the shape of a loft (Muluk Khana) with an independent entrance from the north. Another noteworthy aspect of the Masjid is that the recital of the Pesh Imam at prayers echoes so well that it can be heard at the farthest end of the Masjid.