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 Madurai
is one of south India's oldest cities and has been a centre
of learning and pilgrimage for centuries. The Shree
Meenakshi temple, in the heart of the old town, is a
riotously baroque example of Dravidian architecture. The
city is one huge non-stop bazaar, full ofshops, street
markets, temples and restaurants. Excursions include
Rameshwaram, a major pilgrimage centre, in South
India;Kodaikanal, a popular hill station in the region;
Tanjore, the ancient capital of the Chola kings and famous
for metal, copper and bronze craft and the Kanya Kumari
temple.
Meenakshi Temple
The temple is dedicated to Meenakshi, the consort of Lord
Shiva. The original temple was built by Kulasekara Pandya,
but the entire credit for making the temple as splendid as
it is today goes to Tirumalai Nayak who brought back glory
to this magnificent structure.
Located at the heart of the city, the Meenakshi-Sundareshwar
temple has long been the focus of both Indian and
international tourist attraction as well as one of the most
important places of Hindu pilgrimage. People of the city
wake up to the chant of hymns at the temple, which is the
very centre of their cultural and religious life.
Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam
This is a huge temple tank about 5 km east of the Meenakshi
temple. The mandapam in the centre has an idol of
Vigneshwara (Vinayaka). Discovered during excavation to
build the Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, the place was believed
to be sanctified and was converted into a teppakulam (tank).
This enormous temple tank is fed by water brought from the
Vagai through an ingenious system of underground channels.
It is the site of the temple's float festival.
Thirumalai Nayak Mahal
There is no other building in Madurai, which better
illustrates the architectural style of the Nayaks. The
palace of Tirumalai Nayak is about 1 km away from the
temple. This Indo-Saracenic building was constructed in 1523
and was originally four times as large as it is today. This
palace consisted mainly of two parts, namely Swargavilasa
and Rangavilasa which house the royal residence, theatre,
shrine, apartments, armoury, palanquin place, royal
bandstand, quarters, pond and gardens. The most remarkable
part of this palace is the dome of Swarga Vilasam, which
lies beyond a huge courtyard and is a magnificent example of
the engineering skill of its builders, rising as it does to
a height of 20m without support of any kind.
Koodal Azhagar Temple
This ancient shrine has Vishnu in sitting, standing and
reclining postures one above the other.
The Gandhi Museum
The Gandhi Memorial Museum is one of the distinct places to
be visited in Madurai. This museum is one of the rare living
memorials of "The Father of India" and has an elaborate
historical account of India's struggle for independence.
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