Bhubaneshwar is often called the city of temples . It is impossible to know exactly how many temples there are, but it has been estimated that there might be over 700 temples in the city. This number, while impressive, is just a fraction of the original number, which, sometime in the 13 th century, would have been about 7000. Wikipedia has a page dedicated to the Hindu temples of Bhubaneshwar , where 93 temples are listed. All these are ancient temples, built between the 7 th and 13 th centuries CE. Bhubaneshwar was once known as Ekamra Kshetra , the sacred mango grove. We know this name from an inscription at the Ananta Vasudeva temple, which mentions the name of the place, and the main temple (that we now know as the Lingaraja temple) in the mango grove. Ananta Vasudeva Temple, with a sculpture of Trivikrama in the niche It is extremely interesting to note that the Ananta Vasudeva temple is the only temple to Lord Vishnu in this city. Varaha, Ananta Vasudeva Temple Located v...
For a very long time , the only fort I knew of in and around Mumbai was the Vasai Fort. That was before I learnt about the 8 forts within the city … Nevertheless, knowing about the fort wasn’t of much use, since I couldn’t visit it anyway. It was too far off for one thing, and somehow I didn’t know anyone interested enough to join me on a trip, just to see an old crumbling fort. After years of patient waiting, I finally visited the Vasai fort last week, with Breakfree Journeys , and a group of people after my own heart! The arched colonnade in the Church of the Holy Name or Gonsalo Garcia Church