Aurangabad - Daultabad

I confess today I had completely not known and had underestimated the beauty and charm of this city. Aurangabad is the original home of King Aurangzeb. A city that has history in the air it breathes is also host to UNESCO’s one of world heritage sites ‘Ajanta-Ellora caves’. Has some 6 in and out flights connected to Delhi and Mumbai and is also a popular tourist destination. The Japanese have funded Aurangabad to build its airport so that tourists from Japan can connect with Aurangabad.

I had spent time working mostly here and hardly got time to explore Ajanta Ellora but one thing I did here was visit the fantastic Daultabad fort. Now this was and is the only fort which was never won in a battle due to its engineering genius. It still stands undefeated and when you see it you’d know why. Now there are several levels of security around the fort. Let me unveil them one by one.
• The entrance to the main fort is guarded by tall 10-15 ft tall thick walls that run around the fort. This is a long and winding wall which has window like openings for weapons to be placed in.
• If you manage to escape the illusive walls the premise around the Palace was surrounded by barracks that had infantry deployed for any emergency. Elephants and Horses were a part of it
• If you manage to escape that the whole fort is surrounded by a 10ft wide and several feet deep water canyon. I believe it homed alligators and crocodiles that could never let you alive. To get to the door or the fort one had to cross this canal which was a task
• If you managed to still enter the fort was still on top of a hill so one had to climb all the way up with their army which means waste of time and energy. The stairs were deliberately made so huge that it would enervate any hulk out.
• Now if that wasn’t enough the highlight of the fort is the Bhool-Bhulaiyya or a maze that was designed to disorient the enemy and lead him right out of the fort again. The entrances of the fort are so narrow that you would have to enter head first which meant your entire body is helpless and your head would be chopped off from the soldier on the other side.
• The maze is dark with not the tiniest particle of light. The defending soldiers sat inside small openings in the roofs and as soon as the enemy entered the narrow path they would jump from the top or throw fireballs in the dark. The roads were so illusive that if you take on wrong turn you would either fall into the canal outside toppling over a 200ft long tunnel or you’d be killed somewhere.
It is impossible to make it through the maze alone without the help of a guide. Although all the fatal exits are now closed for safety reasons, its best to hire a guide to see the fort. Daultabad is truly an engineering wonder for the time it was built.