built for it.The
cannon's nozzle is fashioned into the shape of a lion's

head with open jaws &
between the carved fangs is depicted an

elephant being crushed to
death. It is said that after igniting the

cannon, the gunner would
remain underwater in a tank of water on

the platform to avoid the
deafening explosion.

The cannon
remains cool even in strong
sunlight and if tapped,
tinkles like a bell. In 1854
the cannon was auctioned for Rs. 150 but the sale was
cancelled in the end.

Upri Buruj,
Built around 1584 by Hyder
Khan, is an 80 ft high tower
standing to the north of
Dakhani Idgah in Bijapur.
This is a spherical
structure with stone steps
winding round the outside.
Top of the tower offers a
commanding view of the city.
This is also known as "Hyder
Burj", "Upli Burj". On top
of Upli Burj there are two
guns of huge size. The
parafeet this tower which
was used for monitoring
purposes has been fenced
now. One needs to climb the
circular stairs to reach the
top. However except for this
tower there is very little
evidence of the citadel wall
in this area due to rampant
construction.

Gagan Mahal

Chand Bawdi,
Ali Adil Shah (1557-1580)
built this tank near eastern
boundary of Bijapur. When
there was large influx of
people into Bijapur after
the fall of the Vijayanagar
empire, and new settlements
came up within the walled
city raising the need for
better infrastructure and
providing water supply. This
has a storage capacity of 20
million litres. Later it
became a model for many
other tanks constructed in
the city. A grandeur complex
came up around it, which was
mainly used to house the
maintenance staff though
members of the royal family
occasionally used it for
recreation. He named this
after his wife "Chand Bibi".

Asar Mahal,
The Asar Mahal was built by
Mohammed Adil Shah in about
1646, which was used to
serve as a Hall of Justice.
The building was also used
to house hairs from the
Prophet's beard. The rooms
on the upper storey are
decorated with frescoes and
the front is graced with a
square tank. Here women are
not allowed inside. Every
year there is urs (festival)
held at this place.Infront
of the hall, one can see
three tanks the bigger tank,
which is at the centre is
about 15 feet deep however
the other two are
comparatively smaller in
size as well as depth.
Behind Asar Mahal one can
still see the remain of the
citadel. Just a kilometer
away behind Asar Mahal, one
can still find the old
mosque which is on top of
the citadel wall. There is a
big entrance with arc below
this mosque. Many stones
have inscriptions. The site
is under maintaince of
Archeological Survey of
India

Gagan Mahal,
Which means Sky Palace, is
built with a 21- meter
façade and four wooden
massive pillars, has a
majestic central arch.
Sikandar Adil Shah, in
silver chains, surrendered
to Aurangzeb in 1681 here.

Barakaman (Ali Roza-II)
A mausoleum of Ali Roza
built in 1672. It was
previously named as Ali Roza,
but Shah Nawab Khan changed
its name to Bara Kaman as
this was the 12th monument
during his reign. It has now
seven arches and the tomb
containing the graves of
Ali, his queens and eleven
other ladies possibly
belonging to the Zenana of
the queens.

Among the other historical
attractions at Bijapur, some
notable ones are the Anand
Mahal, Jod Gumbaz, Jumma
Mosque, Sat Manzil, and Jal
Manzil.Also among old houses
at Bijapur, the most famous
is Elavia House ( Nauzer
Elavia) which is more than
100 years old.