Manek Chowk is a notable

city square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

Old Ahmedabad The Historic City of Ahmadabad or Old Ahmedabad, the walled city of Ahmedabad in India, was founded by Ahmad Shah I of the Gujarat Sultanate in 1411. It remained the capital of the state of Gujarat for six centuries and later became the importan ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is surrounded by historical structures. It is a vegetable market in the morning, a bullion market in the noon and the street food market at night.

Etymology

It is named after saint

Maneknath Baba Maneknath was 15th century legendary Hindu saint who lived on the banks of Sabarmati river near present city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Legend Saint Maneknath interrupted and helped Ahmad Shah I built Bhadra Fort in 1411. He wove a mat ...

who interrupted and helped

Ahmed Shah I Ahmad Shah I, born Ahmad Khan, was a ruler of the Muzaffarid dynasty, who reigned over the Gujarat Sultanate from 1411 until his death in 1442. He was the grandson of Sultan Muzaffar Shah who has been variously described as a Tank Rajput or a ...

build

Bhadra Fort Bhadra Fort is situated in the walled city area of Ahmedabad, India. It was built by Ahmad Shah I in 1411. With its well carved royal palaces, mosques, gates and open spaces, it was renovated in 2014 by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and ...

in 1411.

Manek Chowk

This bustling open square near the center of the city functions as a vegetable market in the morning and a jewellery market in the afternoon, the second biggest in

, at an apparently 3 million rupees of annual turnover. It is most famous, however, for its food stalls that start to emerge around 9:30 in the evening and continue till late night, with various local street snacks. Manek chowk is best known for its Kulfi.

Food Street

Manek Chowk is one of the few of the food-street which is allowed to stay open till late night. Bhajipau, dosa, typical local sandwiches, and many more local cuisines are available.

Structures

Some heritage structures are in vicinity.

Baba Maneknath Temple

The memorial temple where the saint Maneknath took

samadhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...

, is situated in Manek Chowk.

''Badshah no Hajiro''

This is where the male members of the royal family were buried.

, founder of

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per ...

was buried here. Women are not allowed to enter, and men must wear something to cover their heads before entering. There are also a few minister’s tombs laid out across the road. It lies to the west of Manek Chowk.

''Rani no Hajiro''

On the street leading to the ''Rani no Hajiro'' (Queen’s tomb), where the female members of the royal family were buried, is now a market for women's clothing, jewellery and accessories. Traditional Garba clothes are also sold here. Many types of mouth fresheners, ''Mukhwas'', stalls are nearby. ''Rani no Hajiro'' lies to the east of Manek Chowk.

Ahmedabad Stock Exchange Building

Ahmedabad Stock Exchange was established in 1894. It is the oldest stock exchange after

Bombay Stock Exchange BSE Limited, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is an Indian stock exchange. It is located on Dalal Street in Mumbai. Established in 1875 by cotton merchant Premchand Roychand, a Jain businessman, it is the oldest stock exchange i ...

in India. ASE functioned here till 1996 and it is 93 years old heritage building and an example of British architecture.

Mahurat Pol

It was the first pol (housing cluster) of

. Jains settled here around the 1450s. There are two temples inside pol, Sheetalnath Jain temple and Dholeshwar Mahadev temple.