Family connections with Baroda, Bhavnagar and Vadnagar
Ghogha was the important port town during the medieval period and played as transit port between the ports of the upper part of the Gulf of Khambhat and rest of the ports along the Indian Ocean Countries.
The first companions of the Prophet Muhammad landed at Ghogha around the early seventh century and built a mosque here. This was the time when the Qibla (direction to be faced while praying salah) of the Muslims was Baitul Muqaddas (Jerusalem) instead of Mecca. For a brief period of 16 to 17 months, between 622 and 624 A.D., after the Hijrah (migration) to Medina, the Prophet Muhammad and his believers faced Jerusalem while praying salah between 610 to 623 A.D. This ancient mosque, locally known as Barwada Masjid or Juni (Old) Masjid, was built during this period and is one of the oldest mosques in India.
The Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908:301) mentions that "the natives of this town are reckoned the best sailors or lascars in India. The ships touching here may procure water and supplies or repair damages".
A famous proverb about Ghogha is "Lankani Ladi ane Ghoghano Var" (Bride of Lanka and the Groom from Ghogha), which perhaps indicates some kind of direct overseas relations of Ghogha with Sri Lanka.
References:
1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghogha
2. alchetron.com/Ghogha