Sopara, an ancient port and an international trading center, is situated at
Vasai on
the Arabian Sea coast of
Maharashtra near
Mumbai. During the period of
Buddha, Sopara (ancient Shurparaka) was a gateway settlement and an important port.
Ashoka installed his edicts there. The place is referred to in the Old Testament as Ophir, from where King Solomon brought gold. There is a small hill between
Virar and Nala-Sopara. A stone built structure, refered to as 'Zhuzache Kothar', is there on top of that hill which the locals believe is a grain storage facility built in biblical times. It might be one of the fortified structures built by the Portuguese to monitor shipping into the port of Sopara.
