India is a beautiful country where thousands of distinct and unique cultures of all religions and communities are present. The country is a land of many ancient forts and monuments, which describe its deep manifested past. Today we are going to tell you about one such fort that you may have never heard of and which is one of its kinds in the whole India. The name of this fort is Murud-Janjira Fort, which was named after the village of Murud. The name of the fort is a concatenation of the Konkani and Arabic words for Island, "morod" and "jazeera". This famous fort is situated on an island just off the coastal village of Murud, in the Raigad district of Maharashtra. The fort is situated at a height of 90 feet above sea level and is surrounded by water from all the sides, resting on an oval-shaped rock off the Arabian Sea coast. It is considered one of the strongest marine forts in India and is bounded by 40 meters high walls on all sides. The main gate of the Murud-Janjira Fort is built under the cover of the walls, which, when moving a few meters away from the fort, ceases to be visible due to the walls. It is said that this must have been the reason that the enemies used to get puzzled despite coming near the fort and could not enter the fort. This amazing structure was built in the 16th century under the direction of Malik Ambar of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, an Abyssinian minister in the court of the Sultan of Ahmednagar.
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The 350-year-old fort took 22 years to build and is spread across an area of 22 acres. There are 22 cannons have been deployed in the protection of the fort. Many cannons of Siddis rulers are still kept here, which still exist in every security area. This island fort had a total of 572 canons during its heyday but now only a few of them exist. The three largest cannons named Kalalbangdi, Chavri and Landa Kasam are the special attractions of this fort. Inside the Fort, you can see the stone sculptures, water tanks, and beautiful tombs. The outer wall that flanks the main gate, there is a sculpture depicting a tiger-like beast clasping elephants in its claws, which seems very impressive. There is another gate lying towards the west that faces the sea, called 'Darya Darwaza'. Another special feature of the fort is its 26 rounded bastions, all of which are still intact. The fort has two small 60-foot deep sweet water lakes. But despite being in the middle of the saltwater of the sea, the water of these lakes is sweet. Where this sweet water comes from is still a mystery.
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Now, most parts of the fort are in ruins, however, its condition is far superior to other forts belonging to the same time in history. But during its heyday, the fort was a full-fledged living fort with all sorts of necessary facilities. Murud-Janjira Fort is now an amazing tourist attraction and in order to reach the fort, you need to take a boat ride. Recognized as one of the most notable monuments in India, it is visited by thousands of travelers from across the country.
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