Four Towers of Hyderabad

We all know Charminar. We all love Charminar. Its a landmark and prestige for Hyderabadis like the Eiffel tower for Paris. Its a status symbol.

Built on the east bank of Musi river in 1591, Charminar in english means four Towers; the eponymous towers are ornate minarets attached and supported by four grand arches.

The Charminar is a square structure with each side 20 meters (approximately 66 feet) long, with four grand arches each facing a fundamental point that open into four streets. At each corner stands an exquisitely shaped minaret, 56 meters (approximately 184 feet) high with a double balcony. Each minaret is crowned by a bulbous dome with dainty petal like designs at the base. Unlike the Taj Mahal, Charminar's four fluted minarets are built into the main structure. There are 149 winding steps to reach the upper floor. The structure also known as profuseness of stucco decorations and arrangement of balustrades and balconies.

The structure is made of granite, limestone, mortar and pulverised marble. Initially the monument with its four arches was so proportionately planned that when the fort was opened one could catch a glimpse of the bustling Hyderabad city as these Charminar arches were facing the most active royal ancestral streets.

There is also a legend of an underground tunnel connecting the Golkonda fort to Charminar, possibly intended as an escape route for the Qutb Shahi rulers in case of a siege, though the location of the tunnel is unknown.

A mosque is located at the western end of the open roof and the remaining part of the roof served as a court during the Qutb Shahi times. The actual mosque occupies the top floor of the four-storey structure. A vault that appears from inside like a dome, supports two galleries within the Charminar, one over another, and above those a terrace that serves as a roof, bordered with a stone balcony. The main gallery has 45 covered prayer spaces with a large open space in front to accommodate more people for Friday prayers.

The clock on the four cardinal directions was added in 1889 and there is a Vazu(water cistern)in the middle with a small fountain for Ablution before offering prayer in the Charminar Mosque.

Here are some pix that I took when I climbed it for the first time. Inshallah I will take better pix when I go there next.