Traffic, Gateway, Mosque - Mumbai India

Mumbai — formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the second most populous city in the world. A very hot and crowded city. It lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. Mumbai’s port handles over half of India’s maritime cargo.

Mumbai is the commercial and entertainment center of India. It is India’s largest city, and is called the financial capital of the country and home to important financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India and the corporate headquarters of many Indian companies and numerous multinational corporations. The city also houses India’s Hindi film and television industry, known as Bollywood. The name Bollywood is a portmanteau of Bombay and Hollywood. Mumbai’s business opportunities, as well as its potential to offer a better standard of living, attract migrants from all over India and, in turn, make the city a potpourri of many communities and cultures.

Anyway, the traffic congestion in Mumbai is quite terrible as long as what I saw during my visit to this city recently. With the hot whether in Mumbai, it is extremely frustrated while taking a no aircon taxi on Mumbai’s roads. Car is moving very slowly. It takes us more than 1 hour to travel for a distance of about 7-8 km.

There are quite a number of beautiful places in this city. The Gateway of India is Mumbai’s most famous monument, this is the starting point for most tourists who want to explore the city. It was built to commemorate the arrival in India, on 2 December 1911, of King George V and Queen Mary and was completed on 4 December 1924.

The Haji Ali Mosque was built in 1431, when Mumbai was under Islamic rule. It was built in memory of an Islamic preacher, Sayed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari. Although it is a famous Muslim pilgrimage site, non-Muslim visitors are also welcomed in this place. The mosque is built on a tiny islet located 500 yards from the coast, in the middle of Worli Bay, in the vicinity of Worli. The islet is linked to the city precinct of Mahalakshmi by a narrow causeway. This causeway is not bound by railings, and is lashed by the sea during high-tide. Therefore, the mosque is accessible only during low tide. During our visit to this holy place, we can see that the mosque attracted Indians from various religious and ethnic backgrounds beyond the Muslim realm. According to my friend, it is believe that whoever prays to the deity here is never disappointed.

By the way, food is Mumbai is really great! The food at our hotel was so tasty!