Goa Velha

The Old Goa or Goa Velha meaning Old in Portugese was founded in the 15th century as a port on the banks of the Mandovi river by the rulers of the Bijapur Sultanate. It was surrounded by a moat and contained the Shah’s palace, and his mosques and temples. The city then was captured by the Portuguese, and was under their rule from 1510 as the administrative seat of Portuguese India. With the arrival of the Portuguese in Goa, the city became famous throughout the world. Velha Goa was larger than Lisbon and known as the ‘Rome of the East.’ However, its fall was as swift, as its rise during the Portugese era and plagued by deadly epidemics like cholera, malaria and typhoid– the city was eventually abandoned.

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