Hyderabad City: History & Tourism

Hyderabad is the capital city of the state of Telangana and Andhra

Pradesh of South India. The city was founded on the River Musi by Muham-
mad Quli Qutab Shah in 1591. The city is located on the Deccan Plateau
and it is the fifth largest city of India.

This cosmopolitan city is richly

endowed with a variety of cultures.
The city presents an attractive amal-
gam of old world charm together
with new world of hi-technology.
Hyderabad city has a history of
nearly four hundred years. All its
began with the establishment of the
Qutub Shahi dynasty. Quli Qutub Golconda Fort
Shah seized the reins of power from
the Bahamani Kingdom in 1512 and established the fortress city of Golconda.
The history of Golconda goes back to the Kakatiya Dynasty in 11th century
when they built a mud fortress on a hill called Golconda.

Inadequacy of water, and fre-

quent epidemics of plague and
cholera persuaded Mohammed, the
fifth Quli Qutub Shahi ruler to ven-
ture outward to establish the new
city with the Charminar at its cen-
ter and with four great roads fan-
ning out in the four cardinal direc-
tions. The capital of the city was
Bhagyanagar, which named after a
royal beloved Bhagyamati. As she
Charminar became the wife of Quli Qutub Shah,
the sultan bestowed the title of Hy-

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der Mahal on Bhagmati and thus was born Hyderabad.

The Qutub Shahi rulers were

great builders and patrons of learn-
ing. Mohamed Quli Qutub Shah
built the mosque, whose construc-
tion began in 1614 and Aurangazeb
completed it in 1687. The name
of Mecca Masjid was given to the
mosque since many bricks embed-
ded above the gate are made from
the soil brought from Mecca. The
Mecca Masjid
Qutub Shahi rulers not only patron-
ized the Persian culture but also the regional culture of the Deccan, symbol-
ized by the Telugu language and the newly developed Deccani idiom. Hyder-
abad’s fame, strategic location and Golconda’s legendary wealth attracted
Aurangazeb who captured Golconda after a long siege in 1687. Thereafter,
the importance of Hyderabad declined and the city fell into partial ruin.

As the Mughal Empire de-

cayed and began to disintegrate,
Asaf Jah-I proclaimed himself the
Nizam and established independent
rule of the Deccan. Chowma-
halla Palace was the seat of the
Asaf Jahi dynasty and was the of-
ficial residence of the Nizams of
Chowmahalla Palace Hyderabad while they ruled their
state.

The famous Falaknuma palace

was built by the Paigah, Nawab
Vikar-ul-Umra, who was the brother-
in-law of Nizam VI. It took nine
years from its foundation in 1884 to
completion in 1893 and the palace
was purchased by the Nizam VI in Falakunama Palace
1897. This palace was designed by
an Italian architect in western style and is completely built with Italian Mar-
ble. The palace houses a large collection of rare treasures, paintings, statues,
furniture, manuscripts and books collected by the Nizam. The jade collection

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displayed is considered to be unique in the world. However, the marvel of the
palace faded away in the late 1950’s due to poor maintenance. It remained
in the wilderness till the Taj Hotels Group restored it to its glory through
extensive renovation and made it a heritage hotel, with the help of Princess
Esra Jah, wife of Mukarram Jah who is a survivor of Osman Ali Khan, the
richest Nizam and most prosperous man in the world in his days.

The Prime Minister of Nizam Os-

man Ali Khan and Mir Yousuf Ali
Khan (Salar Jung III) together built
Salar Jung Museum, which is one of
the largest private collections in the
world that covers exhibits from ev-
ery part of the world. The museum
has over 35,000 items comprising of
wood carvings, sculptures, Persian Salarjung Museum
miniature paintings, weaponry and a library of 50000 books. Hyderabad
once again became a major capital city, ruled by successive Nizams of the
Asaf Jah dynasty until the state was merged into the Indian Union in 1948.

The other famous places for

tourism in Hyderabad are Birla tem-
ple, Ramoji Filmcity, Nehru zoo-
logical park, NTR garden, Lumbini
park etc. The Birla Temple is
built with white Rajastani marble in
1976 and the temple is located on
a rocky hill near to Hussain Sagar
Lake.
Birla Temple
The Ramoji Film City is the
largest integrated film city in the
world and named by the Guinness
Book of World Records as the largest
studio on the planet. The Ramoji
Film City boasts of first rated and
comprehensive film making equip-
ment and other facilities which are
Ramoji Filmcity
being used by commercial film mak-
ers from all states of India. It is also a popular tourism and recreation centre,
containing natural and artificial attractions including an amusement park.

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 Nehru Zoological Park

The Nehru Zoo Park has almost 1,500 species of birds, animals and rep-
tiles. The zoo has rich fauna including the avian fauna as well such as
Indian Rhino, Asiatic Lion, Tiger, Panther, Giraffe, Gaur, Deer, Antelopes,
Orangutan, and many more. The place also has a rich population of reptiles
such as Crocodile, Python, etc.

Shilparamam, a crafts village,

conceived in the year 1992, is situ-
ated just about few kilometers from
Hyderabad city. Sprawling over 65
acres (260,000 m2) of land in the hi-
tech hub city of India, Shilparamam
gives a scenic ambience of tradition
and cultural heritage. For promo-
tion and preservation of Indian arts
and crafts and to motivate the ar-
tisans, the state government estab- Shilparamam
lished this platform.

The city of Hyderabad is known

for pearls, Kalamkari handicraft,
Kuchipudi dance, cusines etc. Hy-
derabad is famous for its minarets
and its pearl bazaar. Pearl from all
over the world are said to come to
Hyderabad because the artisans here
are skilled in piercing and string-
ing pearls without damaging them.
Therefore, the city is also known as
”City of Pearls”. The city’s gypsy
Pearls

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 tribes called ”Lambadas” and ”Ban-
jaras” are known throughout the country for their colorful costumes.

The Kalamkari, a fine art

of Handicraft of Andhra Pradesh,
which originated in Machilipat-
nam 3000 year ago, is also pop-
ular in the city. This art has
been practised by many families in
Andhra Pradesh and over the gen-
erations has constituted their liveli-
hood. Kalamkari had a certain de-
cline, then it was revived in In-
dia and abroad for its craftsman-
Kalamkari
ship.

Kuchipudi is one of the ten ma-

jor Indian classical dances. It origi-
nated in a village of Krishna district
in modern Indian state of Andhra
Pradesh. It is a dance-drama perfor-
mance art, with its roots in the an-
cient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya
Shastra. It developed as a reli-
gious art linked to travelling bards,
temples and spiritual beliefs, like
Kuchipudi all major classical dances of In-
dia.

Hyderabad has two types of

cuisines, the Telugu cuisine and Hy-
derabadi cuisine. Telugu cuisine
is the part of South Indian cuisine
characterized by their highly spicy
food. Whereas, Hyderabadi cuisine,
which is an amalgamation of Per-
sian cuisine, Mughlai, Telugu, Turk-
ish cuisines, developed by the Qutb
Shahi dynasty and the Nizams of
Hyderabad and it comprises a broad
Hyderabadi food
repertoire of rice, wheat and meat

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dishes and various spices and herbs. The Hyderabadi cuisine contains city
specific specialities like Hyderabadi biryani, Hyderabadi Haleem, Qubani Ka
Meetha, Double Ka Meetha etc.

Hyderabad offers a variety of tourist attractions and it is like a treat

for lovers of history, art, architecture with several ornate tombs, palaces
and mosques adorning the old city. To the traveller, Hyderabad offers a
fascinating panorama of the past, with a richly mixed cultural and historical
tradition spanning 400 colourful years.