Hyderabad...briefly

Charminar

I spent a week in Hyderabad in November - mainly I was working, slightly out of town, but some friends lent me their car for a half day and I did a bit of exploring in the town itself.  Hyderabad is very prosperous (it's one of the cities in which major international companies place their staff - there's a Special Economic Zone for IT industries) and very, very clean, particularly when compared to Patna.

The very clean, tidy streets of Hyderabad, with Charminar in the background

One of the major attractions of the centre of Hyderabad is Charminar - it was originally a mosque, and the name means 'four towers.'  Charminar is a huge structure, but so gracefully built it doesn't appear particularly large, it's just that in comparison everything else is very small.  I climbed the three or so stories to where there is a walkway underneath the dome - there are great views in all four directions and the marble structure itself is delicately carved, elegantly proportioned and very beautiful.

Looking across the walkway under the dome...

...looking down from the dome...

...and looking up from the ground at the walkway under the dome

I visited on a Sunday morning just after the gates opened and the place was bustling with families having a day out.  Apparently after lunch it's almost impossible to get in, it's so popular

The stone path between the staircases in the pillars and the walkway around the dome

One of the views from the top - they go in for impressively-sized archways in Hyderabad

I don't think Charminar is used as a mosque any more - I and many other women weren't required to cover our heads inside.  Nearby is the current, much larger mosque.  I didn't realise, but Hyderabad has a sizable Muslim population (around 40% I think) and there have been some religious tensions.

The mosque next door to Charminar.  It's an even larger building!!

Hindus have tacked a temple onto one side of Charminar - it looks out of place, like a large golden mushroom blooming in the wrong place - which has done nothing to cool tempers and now has a constant police presence on guard to protect worshipers

The Hindu temple on the side of Charminar.  The blue screens have been set up by the police

Once I'd looked at Charminar I wandered down the street, to the Laad Bazaar, which the (15 year old) guidebook I'd read had recommended as one of the top places to shop.  15 years is a long time in guidebooks: Laad had not aged well, and I was not in the market for second hand plastic crap paraphernalia.  Still, it was interesting to wander around - not least because I was clearly a novelty for some of the other shoppers and traders.

Laad Bazaar from a distance, where it's quite sweet...

...and up close; less to recommend it at this perspective...

...though there are some treasures, like this lamp

I'd like to have more time to explore more of Hyderabad: there's a fortress on the hill I didn't get to, and I hear that there's a whole street of bangles somewhere else near Charminar.  I'll definitely have to go back!

Hyderabad's Fortress on the Hill (and more very clean streets)