The capital city of Telangana, Hyderabad is a popular tourist destination and presents its visitors with a mesmerising contrast of age old traditions, culture at one end and modern facilities, amenities of a metropolitan city at the other end. Hyderabad is one city, which has no dearth of tourist attractions.
The very well known Charminar of Hyderabad is located at the Old City. This square shaped structure with a height of 56 m and breadth of 30 m was constructed in 1591. It was built by Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah in the honor of his wife Bhagmati.
Also referred as the ‘Arc de Triomphe of the East’, Charminar is adorned with four towers in each corner. The minarets on each side, is of 48.7 m height, each with four storeys. Chaminar has a small mosque as well on the top floor. There are 45 prayer spaces which are still visited by people, particularly on Fridays. Lighting in the evening is quite glamorous and makes for a worth watching site.
Chowmahalla Palace near charminar, with literal meaning of ‘four palaces’ in Urdu language was built in the 18th century. It was during the reign of fifth Nizam, Afzar-ud-Daulah, Asaf Jav V, from 1857 to 1869, that the palace was completed.
Initially spread across an area of 45 acres, the palace now covers 12 acres of land. The palace has two courtyards – the northern courtyard and the southern courtyard.
