Hyderabad
 Hyderabad and Secunderabad, City of Pearls, was once the seat of the mighty Vijayanagar empire. Today, the capital of Andhra Pradesh also the seat of India’s mighty software empire - Secunderabad; it goes by the name ‘Cyberabad’.
Across town from all this sheen is the old quarter, with centuries-old Islamic monuments and even older charms. An important centre of Islamic culture, Hyderabad is southern India’s counterpart to the Mughal splendour of Delhi, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri, and a sizeable percentage of Hyderabad’s population is Muslim. The city gracefully combines Hindu and Islamic traditions – while a strategically placed 17.5m-high Buddha looks on.
You’re likely to be taken aback by the kindness of Hyderabadis, and many find the city delightful: lots to see and do with almost none of the hassle found in other parts.
Hyderabad owes its existence to a water shortage. Towards the end of the 16th century, the banks of the Musi River proved to be a preferable location for Mohammed Quli, of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. The royal family abandoned Golconda Fort and established the new city of Hyderabad there. In 1687 it was overrun by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Subsequent rulers of Hyderabad were viceroys, installed by the Mughal administration in Delhi.
In the early 19th century the British established a military barracks at Secunderabad, named after the nizam at the time, Sikander Jah. When Independence came in 1947, the then nizam of Hyderabad, Osman Ali Khan, considered amalgamation with Pakistan, but tensions between Muslims and Hindus increased. Military intervention saw Hyderabad join the Indian union.
Other Useful Information
Orientation
Hyderabad has three distinct areas. The Old Town by the Musi River has bustling bazaars and important landmarks, including the Charminar.
Further north again, beyond the artificial lake, the Hussain Sagar, lies Secunderabad, with its Jubilee bus station and huge railway station, the start and end point for many major trains to the region.
Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills, west of Hussain Sagar, are where the well-heeled – and their restaurants, shops and lounges. Further west is Cyberabad’s capital, Hitec (Hyderabad Information Technology Engineering Consulting) City, with its landmark Cybertowers housing numerous software-development corporations.
Sights
Charminar & Bazaars
Hyderabad’s principal landmark, the Charminar (Four Towers; admission Rs 5; opens 9am-5.30pm) was built by Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 to commemorate the end of a devastating epidemic. Standing 56m high and 30m wide, this four-columned structure creates four arches facing the
cardinal points. There’s a minaret sitting atop each column.
The small mosque on the 2nd floor is the oldest in Hyderabad. It has spiral staircases that lead up the columns, where there are views of the city. With luck, the man with the key will let you in for Rs 100.
The structure of Charminar is illuminated from 7pm to 9pm daily. West of the Charminar, the famous Laad Bazaar has everything from the finest perfumes, fabrics and jewels to musical instruments and kitchen implements. You can see artists creating their works of fine bidri (inlaid silverware), large pots and musical instruments. The lanes around the Charminar form the centre of India’s pearl trade. Some great deals can be had – if you know your stuff.
Mecca Masjid
Adjacent to the Charminar is the Mecca Masjid (Patthargatti; opens 8am-noon & 3-8pm), one of the world’s largest mosques, with space for 10,000 worshippers. Construction began in 1614, during Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah’s reign, but the mosque wasn’t finished until 1687, by which time the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had annexed the Golconda kingdom. The minarets were originally intended to be much higher but, as he did with the Bibi-qa-Maqbara in Aurangabad, Aurangzeb sacrificed aesthetics for economics.
Several bricks embedded above the gate are made with soil from Mecca – hence the name. The colonnades and door arches, with their inscriptions from the Quran, are made from single slabs of granite that were quarried 11km away and dragged here by a team of 1400 bullocks.
Salar Jung Museum
The huge collection of the Salar Jung Museum (Salar Jung Marg; Indian/foreigner Rs 10/150; opens 10am-5pm Sat-Thu), dating back to the 1st century, was put together by Mir Yusaf Ali Khan (Salar Jung III), the grand vizier of the seventh nizam, Osman Ali Khan. The 35,000 exhibits from every corner of the world include sculptures, wood carvings, devotional objects, Persian miniature paintings, illuminated manuscripts, weaponry and more than 50,000 books.
Golconda Fort
Although the bulk of this 16th-century fortress (Indian/foreigner Rs 5/100; opens 8am-6.30pm Tue-Sun) dates from the time of the Qutb Shah kings, its origins, as a mud fort, have been traced to the earlier reigns of the Yadavas and Kakatiyas.
Golconda had been the capital of the independent state of Telangana for nearly 80 years when Sultan Quli Qutb Shah abandoned the fort in 1590 and moved to the new city of Hyderabad.
A sound-and-light show (admission Rs 25; English version time 6.30pm Nov-Feb, 7pm Mar-Oct) is also held here.
Tombs of Qutb Shahi Kings
These graceful domed tombs (admission Rs 10, camera/video Rs 20/100; opens 9.30am-5.30pm) sit serenely in landscapedgardens
about 1.5km northwest of Golconda Fort’s Balahisar Gate. You could easily spend half a day here taking photos and wandering in and out of the mausoleums and various other structures. The upper level of Mohammed Quli’s tomb, reached via a narrow staircase, has good views of the area.
Buddha Statue & Hussain Sagar
Hyderabad boasts one of the world’s largest freestanding stone Buddha statues After five years of work on the project, it was completed in 1990. However, when the 17.5m-high, 350-tonne monolith was being ferried to its place in the Hussain Sagar the barge sank, taking eight people with it. The statue languished underwater until a Goan salvage company raised it – undamaged – in 1992. It’s now on a plinth in the middle of the lake.
Indira Gandhi Park
Crammed full of big old palm trees, this spacious park (admission Rs 5; opens 8am-7pm), just east of Tankbund
Road, is a welcome retreat from the heat and bustle of the city. It has a playground and a small artificial lake where you can rent boats, but the best thing to do is pull up a shady piece of grass and chill out for a while.
Ramoji Film City
Connoisseurs of Bollywood kitsch cannot afford to miss the four-hour tour of Ramoji Film City (admission Rs 200; opens 9am-6pm), an 800-hectare movie-making complex. This place has everything – dance routines, gaudy fountains, flimsy film sets – and the whole thing wraps up with a Wild West song-and-dance number. The ‘Royal Package’ gets you AC transport and lunch at a five-star hotel.
Nehru Zoological Park
One of India’s largest zoos, the Nehru Zoogical Park (Zoo Park; Nehru Zoological Park
Road; admission Rs 10, camera Rs 10; opens 9am-5pm Tue-Sun) spreads over 1.2 sq km of landscapedgardens. Its 3000 animals live in large, open enclosures. It’s certainly less depressing than the average Asian zoo. Lion ‘safaris’ run throughout the day.
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