Surat

Surat is a port city in the state of Gujarat in western India, on the Tapti River near the Arabian Sea. Diamonds mined on several continents are cut and polished in its workshops before they are set in jewelry.

Surat grew in the Middle Ages as a port for ships trading with the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. It came under Mughal rule in the 1570s, and pilgrims to Mecca sailed from its harbor, which earned it the name Gate of Mecca. The English East India Company opened its first trading post in India there in 1612, and the Dutch and the French followed. Silk and cotton weavers made the city rich, and in the 19th century its merchants turned to the cotton mills of Bombay. Narmad, the poet who wrote the first Gujarati dictionary, was born in the city.

The Surat Diamond Bourse, a cluster of office towers for diamond traders, opened in the city in the 2020s. Hari Krishna Exports, founded by Savji Dholakia, cuts and polishes diamonds for jewelry brands abroad. Weavers in Surat make synthetic sarees and dress fabrics, and the city is known for zari, a thread of silver or gold used in embroidery. ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India makes steel at its plant at Hazira, on the coast west of the city.

Surat Castle, a stone fort of the 16th century, stands on the bank of the Tapti in the old city. The Sardar Patel Museum shows Chinese porcelain, textiles and old maps of the port. Surti cooking has dishes of its own, such as locho, a steamed snack of gram flour, and undhiyu, a winter dish of mixed vegetables cooked slowly in an earthen pot. Ghari, a sweet of puri dough filled with nuts and dipped in ghee, is eaten at the festival of Chandani Padva.