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Around the world in 2000,
via Asia and Madagascar.
Hyderabad (India)
Bec2004-09-18 17:58:46
Displayed times (last time: )
in 1687 and Aurangzeb's viceroys (later the Nizams) ruled it from Hyderabad.
Golconda
The ancient Golconda Fortress, 10 kms west of Hyderabad, was the capital of the Qutb Shahi kings from 1507 to 1687. The only way in is by the Bala Hisar Gate which is protected from cannon fire by the curtain wall shown here.
The outside ramparts, which have a perimeter of 7 kilometers, enclose the Shah's palaces and the fortress proper constructed on a 130 meter granite hill. Here is the north stairway leading up to the inner fortifications.
Below, another view of the northern stairway overlooking the surrounding plain and one of the inner ramparts on that side.
This stairway leads to the mosque built by the third Shah of the dynasty, Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah and to the small temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Mahakali (Durga Devi), shown below.
The Durbar Hall at the very top of the hill is where the Shahs held their audiences and the general assemblies of the kingdom.
Durbar Hall on the summit of Golconda Fortress.
Abu Hasan, the last of the Qutb Shahs held out here for seven months against a huge Moghul army commanded by Emperor Aurangzeb before losing the fort through the treachery of one of his generals in 1687.
Hyderabad
As I was leaving Golconda, I met a Scottish retired doctor, Michael Ramage, who was also planning to visit the Salar Jang Museum so we went there together. It's a pity we had to deposit our cameras, otherwise I might have had a few exhibits to show you...
The next day, I took a bus to Secunderabad to catch the overnight train to Bangalore 14 hours away. On the train, I met a group of 32 high school girls and had an interesting conversation with some of them under the watchful surveillance of their male escorts who visibly did not appreciate my probing questions about the role of women in the Hindu society.
Copyright Bernard Cloutier
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See photographs from:
India Gallery
