Known as the city of lakes for its natural and artificial lakes, Bhopal was founded in the 11th century by the illustrious Paramara King of Malwa, Raja Bhoja who built a pala (dam) to secure his eastern frontiers. That’s how Bhopal got its name. Bhopal was ruled by the wives of the Nawabs for over a hundred years. The Begums who were great reformists and patrons of education, art, culture and public works, built several great monuments, which still stand as testaments to the city’s glorious past including the Taj-ul-Masajid, one of the largest mosques in India. Legendary poet Muhammad Iqbal – who gave India ‘saare jahan se achcha’ – lived at Sheesh Mahal and Riyaz Manzil in Bhopal near the maidan which is today called Iqbal Maidan.