Despite the arid climate, Hydrabad is full of color. From the brightly colored sarees worn by the ladies to the Hindu temples, the people of Hydrabad provide the vibrance that gives a sharp contrast to the brown rocks and dusty streets. This is by far my favorite picture from my trip and captures the beauty of India.
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| Sweeper in Golkonda Fort |
Golkonda fort was the second stop on my first day, but it provided some amazing views of the power and wealth of medieval Hydrabad while providing panoramic view of the emerging Hydrabad of today. The fort itself was immense, and I actually covered it over two visits covering about 5 km which is approximately the size of the vatican. The peak of the fort looms about 400 feet above the lower levels and uses a set of winding pathways to get to the top making the defense of the high ground much easier.
The current granite fort sits on top of of the remains of previous mud forts, and was the seat of the Persian sultans for 171 years before the fort was sacked by a siege. The fort and nearby tombs show a mixture of Indian and Persian architecture. Although this was my second stop both days, it set the stage for the introduction of the builders of Hydrabad, the Qutb Shahi dynasty.
Culturally, the fort also shows the mix of Shia Islam and Hinduism that dominate Hydrabad today. Multiple Mosque little the ruins of the fort, there is an amazing hindu temple at the top of the fort with a beautiful vishnu painting.
The current granite fort sits on top of of the remains of previous mud forts, and was the seat of the Persian sultans for 171 years before the fort was sacked by a siege. The fort and nearby tombs show a mixture of Indian and Persian architecture. Although this was my second stop both days, it set the stage for the introduction of the builders of Hydrabad, the Qutb Shahi dynasty.
Culturally, the fort also shows the mix of Shia Islam and Hinduism that dominate Hydrabad today. Multiple Mosque little the ruins of the fort, there is an amazing hindu temple at the top of the fort with a beautiful vishnu painting.
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| Vishnu at Golkonda |
Some of the greatest colored added to the fort were the people. On both my visits to the fort, I was a celebrity, and it was pretty common to have to stop for Indians to take pictures with me. Luckily, I warned my friend Dipesh that this was going to happen the second day so he was very aware of my fan clubs that walked through the fort with me, exploring the bat caverns and other areas while trying to carry on a conversation in their broken english.
On both days, the heat was oppressive, and people favored rest spots in the shade to take refuge from the hot Indian oven baking the climbers as they ascending to the top. When I'd pull out my thermometer, a crowd gathered to read what they already knew, hell had descended down onto Hydrabad, and the thermometer was only a measure of how miserable visitors knew they were.
The view from the top gives some idea at how massive the inner fort is, but its hard to see the city that encompasses the outer wall, the old swimming pool the size of a small lake and the gold course that all remain inside the walls of the fort today.
As I left the fort, ladies clad in multi-colored sarees passed through the green oasis of the inner gates.
Just outside the inner gates is a reminder of home as one of many CocaCola branded stores serve refreshment to the parched pilgrims that have visited the fort.
Golkonda Fort is worth the visit, and its a must see for visitors to Hydrabad. In this section of the old city, you will see a mixture of Hindu visitors and Muslim residents visiting the fort on any given day. The fort is one of many monuments to the sultans that ruled Hydrabad for 171 years showing not only their tolerance of other religions, but their zeal to build great monuments the define Hydrabad today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golkonda
On both days, the heat was oppressive, and people favored rest spots in the shade to take refuge from the hot Indian oven baking the climbers as they ascending to the top. When I'd pull out my thermometer, a crowd gathered to read what they already knew, hell had descended down onto Hydrabad, and the thermometer was only a measure of how miserable visitors knew they were.
The view from the top gives some idea at how massive the inner fort is, but its hard to see the city that encompasses the outer wall, the old swimming pool the size of a small lake and the gold course that all remain inside the walls of the fort today.
As I left the fort, ladies clad in multi-colored sarees passed through the green oasis of the inner gates.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golkonda
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