Day Thirteen

For Saturday, we decided to hire a coach and guide and take a more touristic tour of Hyderabad city. We left campus at 9:30a.m. and drove across the city to the “Salarjung Museum” which held an international collection of artifacts. Italian sculpture, a wide variety of international glassware, metalwork, armoury, ivory, precious stones and painting, had been collected by one particular Nizam of Hyderabad.

After the museum we drove through Charminar, which is one of the central shopping districts in Hyderabad, in particular it is famous for its lacquer bangles and pearl jewellery. The monument was constructed to commemorate a plague in the city and has 4 impressive minarets. Unfortunately, we were unable to shop in this district as the guide had warned us that it was especially dangerous for tourists. Eager to please his shopaholic clients, the guide quickly detoured towards a craft market where we were able to find a wide variety of souvenirs.

It was now late afternoon and we were very hungry but as we were in the city centre our choice of American fast food outlets was limited so we decided to settle for the guides recommended restaurant where we discovered some rather delicious Indian fast food.

In the afternoon, we travelled through the old town, which homes the Muslim population, to the edge of the city where we visited Hyderabad Fort. For our entire group this was definitely a highlight of our trip to India as it broadened our knowledge of Indian culture and ancient architecture. Formerly the home of the Rulers and Nizams of Hyderabad, this ancient ruin consisted of 275 steps up a steep mountain to a fortress. The Fort was situated within its own individual walled city which interestingly used a system of clapping and echoes as a means of communication in days gone by. There were many ruined buildings with-in the complex including, administrative centres, a mosque, bathing facilities and accommodation for the ruling family and their servants.