With about 10 million inhabitants, this fascinating city in the middle of the Deccan plateau, in south-central India, has a rich history that has left a good series of monuments and archaeological remains and an unusual vitality, reflected in overflowing bazaars of activity well into the morning.
Former capital of the very rich nizams (sovereigns) of Hyderabad, a princely state that maintained its independence during the time of the British Raj, today its mosques, mausoleums or palaces are joined by the avant-garde buildings and cultural spaces of the sector known as Cyberabad, one of the high-tech centers of contemporary India.
Hyderabad has been one of the fundamental centers of Muslim culture in the Indian subcontinent for the past centuries and was previously a center of power for important Hindu kingdoms, circumstances that have marked a considerable fusion of styles in its architecture, music, religious festivals and even in the famous Hyderabadi cuisine.
It is not the most touristic metropolis in the country, but it well deserves to be taken into account.
enlarge photo Plaza del Charminar, in the Indian city of Hyderabad.
alamy
9.00 Sweets and
bangles
Iranian-style coffee
Nimrah (1)
is a well-stocked classic of juices, excellent coffee, and oriental sweets.
It is ideally located in the square dominated by the
Charminar (2)
, an impressive arch flanked by four minarets erected in the 16th century as thanks to God for the end of a plague epidemic and the main symbol of the city.
A few meters away is the
Mecca Mosque (3)
, from the 17th century and the most important for the Muslim minority (its prayer courtyard can accommodate up to 10,000 faithful).
The bazaars that extend from one side of the Plaza del Charminar - even more beautiful when it is lit at night - are very lively with the shop windows of saris and
silk and cotton
kurtas
, dried fruits or the best
bangles
shops
, the typical colored bracelets inlaid with glass.
Mumtaz
or
Charminar Bangles
are two recommended directions.
11.00 In front of a marble throne
A 10-minute walk south from the Charminar leads to the
Chowmahalla Museum (4)
, in the fabulous 18th-century palace that was the residence of the Nizams, the extremely wealthy monarchs of the State of Hyderabad.
Inside, the
durbar
or audience hall is supported by beautiful horseshoe arches and lit by a score of precious crystal chandeliers, while the throne is made of immaculate marble.
In the extensive gardens, surrounded by a wall with impressive gates, you can admire some of the Rolls-Royces of the last nizams, while in the rooms around them the costumes, everyday objects and paraphernalia of royalty are displayed.
enlarge photo Detail of a sgraffito façade of the Chowmahalla Palace, the opulent residence of the Hyderabad rulers, inspired by Hyderabad in the Shah's Palace in Tehran.
getty images
13.00 The fortress of diamonds
Until the mines of South Africa or Brazil were discovered, diamonds were mined from the legendary mines of Golconda and therefore considered a gift from the gods.
Its commercialization turned first Hindu kings and then Muslim sultans into leaders of the prosperous territory of
Golconda (5)
, whose former capital was a fortress on a hill 10 kilometers from Hyderabad (the most practical is to approach by taxi).
With a perimeter of more than 11 kilometers, its oldest parts date back to the 12th century and amaze the solid gates of the bastions, nailed with pointed stakes to repel the charges of elephants, and the remains of mosques, Hindu temples and palaces of the sultans of Golconda.
15.00 Between tombs and a
hammán
Two kilometers from the entrance
of the Golconda fort,
gardens host a fascinating archaeological site containing some 40 tombs, of which the beautiful square-shaped mausoleums and bulbous domes of the sultans of the Qutb Shahi dynasty are particularly well preserved. reigned in the 16th and 17th centuries, some mosques and a
hammán.
It can take up to two hours to walk among these testimonies of a splendid past.
17.00 The
dargah
of Ali Maula
Five hundred steps lead to the top of a hill in the northeast of the city where the
dargah -
Sufi shrine - of
Ali Maula (6)
, son-in-law of Muhammad and to whom Hindus and Muslims attribute miracles, is found.
You have to explore the alleys that start from the base of the great rock and that hide places linked to the cultural history of Hyderabad, such as the mausoleum of the dancer, poet and courtesan
Mah Laqa Bai (7)
, who captivated two nizams in the century XVIII.
19.00 Cultural afternoon in Lamakaan
At dusk it is time to approach the great
artificial lake Hussain Sagar (8)
that a sultan ordered to design almost 500 years ago.
In the middle of the waters there is an
illuminated statue of Buddha (9)
, 18 meters high, erected in 1992 and blessed by the Dalai Lama.
It is also advisable to check the programming of the modern
Lamakaan
cultural center
(10)
, in the trendy area of
Banjara Hills (11)
.
Some of the best traditional Indian music formations (tabla, sitar and vocal) share the Lamakaan rooms with directors who discuss their latest films and exhibitions of paintings and sculptures by authors who break with the classic molds of Indian art.
21.00 For a typical dinner
The local cuisine is famous throughout India, especially for its specialties: the spicy
chicken hyderabadi,
the
biryani
rice
with lamb and its sweets, delicacies that retain the Persian influence that the Mughals imported.
The
Shadab
restaurant
(12)
, north of the Charminar, is great for a typical dinner.
From there, a taxi takes us back to Banjara Hills and the adjacent Jubilee Hills, with a good number of bars and clubs, some with live music or DJs, for drinks until midnight.
Among the trendy places,
Over the Moon (13)
,
BLVD (14)
, the
MOB
brewery
(15)
or
Vertigo the High Life (16)
.
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