Geography of Madurai
Madurai (until 1949 Madura), India, a city in Tamil Nadu state, 270 miles (435 km) southwest of the city of Chennai (Madras). Madurai lies in a farming area and has large textile mills. It is an ancient city that was the capital of a local kingdom by 300 B.C. Madurai's great Hindu temple (built in the 14th-17th centuries) has nine elaborate gateway towers, and halls containing more than 2,000 columns.
Population: 940,989.