Renting another trusty Toyota Innova van (and a driver, of course), myself, Bradd, and 3 of his co-workers took off to the city of Modhera where 1 of only 7 sun temples of the world is located. It's only about a 1.5 hr drive north-west of Ahmedabad but in some ways feels like the other side of India. Passing through villages, fields and farms, we found our way to the temple. I was there earlier in January without Bradd for the annual Modhera Dance Festival at night but wanted to experience it during the daylight and so Bradd could see it.
We arrived early morning around 6:30 am so we could get the light of the rising sun. We were the first people there so it was wonderfully quiet and personal without any other tourists around. As we approached the temple, a troop of monkeys were playing on the rocks next to us and a large number of peacocks were hanging around he main structure. How cool!
The Sun Temple was built in 1026 a.d. and is still magnificent! It's not really a huge structure but has the most elaborate details carved into almost every available surface. Various flora and fauna are represented, decorative filigree, busty women and virile men in a proud array of poses and yes - quite a few sexually explicit scenes as well (India did create the Kama Sutra, you know). All these craving were punctuated by the multitude of common squirrels running rampant and birds tucked into overhangs...even 2 little owls. The front entrance steps lead straight down to a huge, open well that is almost like a reverse ziggarat. Even this structure has hundreds of it's own small shrines and decorative work. A bit dizzying, it's fairly steep and hand rails weren't very big back in 1026 so I personally didn't go down into the well very far. The sight is no longer used as a religious temple but is well-maintained and there has been a small shrine erected right next to the temple for religious offerings. I was lured into the shrine to make an offering, aka- money, in exchange for a blessing. I figured it couldn't hurt and at 10 Rupees (20 cents), I wasn't loosing much. Bradd made me rub off my "blessing" later because he said it looked like I had a dab of mustard between my eyes.
The step well was about a half hour away from Modhera in a decent size town called Patan. It's known mostly for the step well, an old fort that circles part of the town and for it's fine silk weaving. I read they actually dye the silk thread for the pattern before weaving the fabric and it takes 4-6 months to make a sari! I didn't see it but it sounds impressive.
The step well was uncovered in 1986 and is in really impressive condition. It was built around 1050 a.d. for a queen so the carvings are quite amazing. The area surrounding the step well was a sort of strange park with a meandering walkway going in no particular direction. But I was certainly amused by the troops of langur monkeys running all around us and the warning sign for the giant honey bees (just in case one is allergic). I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
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