Till the fourteenth century, the only inhabitants of the city now called Mumbai, were tiny communities of 'Koli' fishermen. The area consisted of seven islands that are now united by massive land reclamation projects. You can see a part of this past in the 'Worli Fishing Village' where the locals and their maritime occupations have not seen much change in the last six hundred years.
In 1668 the East India Company secured a lease for this prime maritime location (from the British authorities) for a token payment. This began the development of what is now an amazing city of almost 15 million people. The British left a legacy that includes some fascinating architecture, such as the massive Gothic structure once famous as Victoria Terminus (now called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus), and currently used by two and a half million commuters every day.


Prince of Wales Museum

Barely a stone's throw from the Gateway of India is the Prince of Wales Museum, a magnificent, but somewhat strange structure, built in a confluence of Gothic and Moorish styles, and crowned by a sparkling white dome. It boasts a good collection of ancient Indus Valley artifacts dating back to 2000 BC, plus some priceless Tibetan and Nepali Art.
There is an entire gallery devoted to Buddhist tankha scrolls and another to Tibetan bronzes, but the chief attraction here is the collection of over 2000 miniature paintings from the various art schools of India. Next to the Museum is the Bombay Natural History Society, which has an extensive collection of local flora and fauna.

The Gateway of India

The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of the King George V and Queen Mary to Mumbai in 1911 AD. The foundation stone was laid on 31st March 1911 AD. The splendid gateway was designed by George Wittet and his design was sanctioned in August 1911 AD. It is built in the Indo-saracenic style integrating local style of architecture also and adoptingfrom the Muslims of Gujarat. Between 1915 AD and 1919 AD, the work proceeded on reclamations at Apollo Pier for the land on which the gateway and the new sea wall would be built. The foundations were completed in 1920.
The gateway was built of yellow kharodi basalt and reiforced concrete. The cost of the construction of the gateway came to about Rupes 21,0000, which was given mainly by the government. The approach road was never built due to scarcity of funds and the gateway now stands at an angle to the road leading up to it. The whole seaport front was realigned so that it comes in line with designed promenade, which would sweep down to the middle of the town.
The height of the central dome is 48 ft in diameter and rises 83 ft above the ground at its highest point. The has four turets and decorated with intricate lattice work carved into the yellow basalt stone.

Victoria Terminus

An epic in red sandstone, the city of Fatehpur Sikri was built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar during 1564 A.D. A sonless Akbar had gone to Sikri to seek the blessings of a muslin saint, Sheikh Salim Chishti. When his son was finally born, Akbar constructed the famous city of Fatehpur Sikri in gratitude to the mystic and named it his capital. Later, due to administrative reasons, Akbar had to abandon this city. This now deserted city still contains many reminders of its resplendent past. The beautiful marble tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti attracts thousands of visitors who seek the blessings of the revered saint. Other monuments worth visiting are the towering Buland Darwaza (built to commemorate Akbar’s Gujarat campaign ), Diwan-i-Am, Diwan-i-Khas, Panch Mahal, Jodha Bai's Palace and Birbal Bhavan.