Manek Burj

Manek Burj is the oldest bastion of the walled city of Ahmedabad. It lies at the end of Ellis Bridge, now renamed Swami Vivekanand Bridge.

When Sultan Ahmed Shah decided to build a new city of Ahmedabad to replace Anhilwara Patan as the capital of Gujarat, he laid the foundation stone for Bhadra Fort together with his spiritual mentor Shaikh Ahmed Khattu Ganj Baksh, Kazi Ahmed and Malik Ahmed. Manek Burj was the foundation bastion of Ahmedabad built on the east bank of the Sabarmati River.

The bastion had a stepwell and a bath that received water through a channel connected to the Sabarmati, but these were disused after the river changed course.

In May 1989, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation declared Ellis Bridge, Manek Burj and the natural water drain near one of the banks of the Sabarmati to be protected sites. When Ellis Bridge was modified and widened to become Swami Vivekanand Bridge in 1999, part of the bastion was demolished but the monument was restored in 1999.

Manek Burj got its name from the legendary 15th century Hindu saint, Maneknath. The Nath family, descendants of Saint Maneknath, perform prayers and hoist the flag on Manek Burj on Ahmedabad's foundation day and also on Dusshera every year. The bastion is one of the few remnants of the medieval wall that once enclosed Ahmedabad.