Charminar, the edifice of four minarets, is the legendary masterpiece of the Qutb Shahis. The awesome rectangular structure was built upon four grand arches by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 to commemorate the end of the plague.
The plan is a square, each side 20 meters long, while the four arches are 11 meters wide and rise 20 meters from the plinth. The four storied minarets rise 20 meters from the roof of the massive monument and measures 24 meters from the plinth. The western section of the roof contains a mosque with 45 prayer spaces with a large open space in front to accommodate more for Friday prayers. To the east of this space is a veranda with a large open arch in the centre, flanked by smaller ones both side.
Founded originally by the Kakatiyas in the 13th century, the existing structure was expanded by the Qutb Shahi kings into a massive fort of granite with walls and ramparts extending some 7kms in circumference. The fortress city within the walls was famous for the diamond trade and the Koh-i-noor diamond is said to have come from here.
This is the biggest mosque in Hyderabad and lies 100 yards south-west of Charminar. The name is derived from the Grand Mosque at Mecca on which it is patterned. The hall is 67 meters by 54 meters and 23 meters high. The roof is supported by 15 arches, five on each of the three sides. The western side is blocked by a high wall to provide the Mehrab. At each end are two huge octagonal columns made out of a single piece of granite each topped by an arched gallery that is crowned by a dome. The mosque is one of the largest in India and can accommodate ten thousand people at a time.
The tombs erected in the memory of the departed kings of Golconda are truly magnificent monuments that have stood the test of time and the vagaries of nature. They stand a kilometre north of Golconda fort's Banjara Darwaza.
Built by one of the Paigh nobles Sir Vicar ul Umra, and later bought by the Nizam, the Falaknuma Palace (meaning "Mirror in the Sky") is 5km south of the Charminar. This palace was designed by an Italian architect and houses some rare treasures collected by the Nizam.
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