Manora Fort

This article is about fort in Thanjvur, India. For the island in Pakistan, see Manora.

The Ancient Fort of Tamilnadu, India

Manora, The Ancient Fort of Tamilnadu, India

The Manora fort is situated 65-km away from Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India. The fort was built by Maratha ruler Serfoji II in 1814-1815 to commemorate the successful advance of the British over Napoleon Bonaparte. It is an 8-storied, hexagonal tower, which is 230-meters high overlooking the Bay of Bengal. The fort derives its name Manora, from the word "Minaret".^{[1] [2] [3]}

In December 2004, five monuments including the fort were damaged in the Indian Ocean Tsunami.^[4] It was planned in 2007 by the State Tourism Department to renovate the structure and improve its infrastructure by building several additional facilities including upgrading the children's park and building a tourist's shed.^[5]

Claims

It is claimed by the locals that in those hay days, the 8 storey tower overlooked a part of distant country Sri Lanka across the bay of bengal, a claim still unproven. It is said that the Lankan traders used to come to Manora and traded goods with their Indian counterparts.Their are also many claims regarding treasure Serfoji might have hidden inside the mazes of the fort. This resulted in the locals to damage the campus in search of the treasures but yielding none. Neglect from maintainance has already cost the heritage building severely that public are allowed to go until the 2nd floor of the 8 storey tower in fear of collapse of the tower. Also, it is claimed that an underground passege from this fort leads to the big temple in Thanjavur, 65 km away.

References

1. ^ For more details about manora and photos, please see my tourism page "My Tours & Photos : Manora". D.SENTHILKUMAR. http://www.mytoursandphotos.com/index.asp?id=7&tour=Manora. 
2. ^ "Pattukotai: Unexploited Potential". Pattukotai Tamilnadu Tourism. http://www.tamilnadu-tourism.com/tamilnadu-cities/pattukotai.html. Retrieved 2008-04-09. 
3. ^ Joshi, G.V. (2003-02-15). "Victory Tower". The Hindu: Tamil Nadu News. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/yw/2003/02/15/stories/2003021500770300.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-09. 
4. ^ Ramakrishnan, T. (2005-01-07). "Mughal-era fort, Dutch tombs damaged". The Hindu: Tamil Nadu News. http://www.hindu.com/2005/01/07/stories/2005010715140700.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-09. 
5. ^ Srinivasan, G. (2007-09-19). "Manora fort to get a facelift". The Hindu: Tamil Nadu News. http://www.hinduonnet.com/2007/09/19/stories/2007091961370900.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-09.