The Chief Minister of Gujarat is on a 6 day Israel Tour to increase mutual cooperation between Gujarat and Israel. During his tour, he made a visit to an Indian hospice located near Al-Aqsa Mosque and sread over an area of 7000 square meters. The centre is set up on a site where Sufi saint Khwaja Fariduddin Ganjshakar, popularly known as Baba Farid, prayed and meditated in the year 1200. It has been an ideal rest place for many centuries for India pilgrims who visit to offer prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque.
CM Rupani also met Muhammad Munir Ansari native of Saharanpura, Uttar Pradesh who is currently the custodian of the hospice. Since 1924 the Ansari family have been the care taker of this ancient Indian hospice. In 2011, In 2011, Ansari was conferred the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman by then President Pranab Mukherjee.
Rupani praised the place, and left behind a beautiful message in the visitors book of the hospice. He wrote, “It is very fortunate that the Indian Hospice is being maintained so well by the Ansari family. I am thankful to them for keeping the spirit of Indian architecture, heritage and culture alive here. Indians have always been very progressive and proactive throughout the world. I also pay my homage to Baba Farid on this special day in Jerusalem which is a very holy city for billions of people around the world.”
