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PRADESH - MONUMENTS |
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Bhongir Fort, Bhongir : This
fort is located upon a single hill at Bhongir.
More than 500 feet high and spread over an area
of 40 acres, the fort was considered practically
impregnable by invading armies. Built in the
12th century by western Chalukya ruler Tribhuvanamalla
Vikramaditya it has a unique egg-shaped construction
with two entry points protected by huge rocks.
A moat that encircles the fort, a vast underground
chamber, trap doors, an
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armoury, stables, ponds,
wells etc., make for fascinating viewing. The view
from top of the surrounding countryside is simply
breathtaking. |
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Chandragiri Fort, Chandragiri
:
Chandragiri was the later capital of the Vijayanagara
Empire. The forts and Mahals at the place are
attractions for tourists. The fort is said to
have been built in AD 1,000 by Immadi Narasimha
Yadavaraya and has been improved in later time
by the
Vijayanagara Kings.
The fort stands on a huge hill 183m high. The
southern side of the hill is enclosed by strong
walls, surrounded by a ditch. The remains of
the lower fort contain the two Mahals, the lower
portion of which is built in stone and the upper
in brick. The main building known as the 'Raj
(Chandragiri) Mahal' is majestic in appearance.
The modern town of Chandragiri lies to the east
of the hill on which the fort stands.
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Asman Garh Palace, Hyderabad
:
The palace was designed and built by Sir Osman
Jah, a noble belonging to the Paigah family and
one time Prime
Minister of Hyderabad State.
The granite turrets and arched windows of Asman Garh stand atop a hill some distance
ahead of the Hyderabad TV tower. The palace now houses an archaeological
museum. |
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Charminar, Hyderabad : The
Charminar is as much the signature of Hyderabad
as the
Taj Mahal is of Agra or the Eiffel
Tower is of Paris.
It is a magnificent square edifice of granite, built upon four grand arches facing
North, South, East and West. These arches support two floors of rooms and gallery
of archways. At each corner of the square structure is a minaret rising to a
height of 24 meters, making the building nearly 54 meters tall. It is these four
(char) minarets (minar) that give the building, its name Charminar. Each minar
stands on a lotus-leaf base, a special
recurrent motif in Qutub Shahi buildings.
The first floor was used as a madarasa (college)
during the Qutub Shahi period. The second floor
has a mosque on the western side, the dome of which
is visible from the road, if one stands some distance
away. A spectacular view of the city may be had
from the roof of the Charminar, although, due to
severe overcrowding of the minarets, only visitors
with special permission from the Archaeological
Survey of India, Hyderabad Circle are allowed to
go to the top of the minarets. The clocks above
each of the four archways
were added in 1889.
Walking around the Charminar area, one is constantly surprised by vestiges of
the past intermingling with the present. Towards the Southeast of the Charminar
is located imposing edifice of the Nizamia Unani Hospital. About 50m to the West,
the line of shops in Lad Bazaar is interupted by an old, crumbling brown wall,
which marks the entrance to the old Nizama?s Jilau Khana (parade ground). The
grounds are now being used for the development of a large commercial complex.
Further down, a road to the left leads to the Khilawat Complex (Chowmahalla Palace).
The Lad Bazaar road terminates in a square called Mahaboob Chowk where a large
19th century clock-tower looms over a
delicate white mosque of the same period.
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Golconda Fort, Hyderabad : Golconda
is one of the famous forts of India. The name
originates from the Telugu words "Golla
Konda" meaning "Shepherd's Hill". The origins
of the fort can be traced back to the Kakatiyas
period Golconda was originally a mud fort,
which passed to the Bahmani dynasty and later
to the
Qutb Shahis, who held it from 1518 to 1687
A.D. The first three Qutb Shahi kings rebuilt
Golconda,
over a span of 62 years.
The fort is famous for its acoustics, palaces, factories, ingenious water supply
system and the famous Fateh Rahben gun, one of the cannons used in the last siege
of
Golconda by Aurangzeb, to whom the fort ultimately fell.
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