Hanging Out in Hyderabad - Chowmahalla Palace

On our second day in Hyderabad we went to the Chowmahalla Palace in the morning.  In Persian chahar means four and in Arabic mahal mean palace  so it's a place of 4 palaces.  It is believed to have been modelled on the Shah of Iran's palace in Tehran, and was the palace of the Nizams of Hyderabad while they ruled the state.  The palace is still owned by their heirs - who now live in Australia.

The Khilwat Mubarak is the heart of the palace.  There is a grand pillared Durbar Hall with a marble platform for the royal seat.  This is the place where religious and other symbolic ceremonies took place.  Throughout this hall there are chandeliers of Belgian crystal.

Outside this is the clock tower above the main gate.  It's known as the Khilwat Clock and has been ticking away for more than 250 years.  A local family of clock repairers winds the clock every week. 

Hanging Out in Hyderabad - the Charminar, bangles, perfumes and pearls

Our final stop for the day was the Charminar, right in the old part of Hyderabad.  It was constructed in 1591 as both a monument and a mosque.  It's one of the most recognized structures of India.  It was built to commemorate the eradication of the plague and the start of the second Islamic millennium year - in fact the city of Hyderabad itself was founded by Qutb Shah to celebrate this millennium.

Around the Charminar there are many shopping streets - the most famous things to buy here are pearls, bangles and perfumes (I bought some of each).

Hanging Out in Hyderabad - Qutb Shahi Tombs

After spending time at the Fort, we took a short ride out to the Qutb Shahi Tombs.  There are 72 monuments in this heritage park, which are now being renovated by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture - this renovation is expected to take around 10 years.  

The tombs are domed structures that are built on a square raised platform.  The architectural style is a blend of Persian, Pashtun and Hindu, with intricately carved stonework.  At one time the tombs were furnished with carpets, chandeliers and velvet canopies.  Copies of the Koran were kept on pedestals and readers recited verses at regular intervals.  Golden spires were fitted over the tombs of the sultans to distinguish them from those of other royals.

The restoration work so far has removed modern material like cement, and the original features are being restored with traditional materials.  Some of the Persian tiles have been revealed as part of this process.  

Tomb of Sultan Quli Qutb Shah

Hanging Out in Hyderabad - Golconda Fort

I went for a long weekend to Hyderabad with Jenni.  While it's now a booming cyber-city, it has a very long history and that was what we were mostly concerned with.

On the morning of our first day in Hyderabad we went to the Golconda Fort, which was once the capital of the medieval sultanate of the Qutb Shahi dynasty.  The fort area is huge.  It's full of pavillions, gates, entrances, mosques and domes.  

The fort used to have a vault where the Koh-i-Noor diamond was stored, along with other diamonds.

More Music

We enjoyed the Mahindra Blues Festival for the 3rd year - and luckily as we are now living in Bandra it's just a short walk to the Mehboob Studios, and Indian film and recording studio founded by director and producer Mehboob Khan.  Top of the bill was Joss Stone.  What a great night!  

A weekend in the wineries

For the second year in a row, we travelled to Nashik, around 4 hours outside of Mumbai, for the Sula Fest.  This is a 2 day musical festival in the Sula Vineyards.  As well as the music, we were able to spend a morning in the town of Nashik itself.  We also went to visit a mineral museum - Nashik is one of the highest cities in Maharashtra and lies on the western edge of the Deccan Plateau which is a volcanic formation, and many interesting minerals are found there.  

The city is situated at the foothills of the Western Ghats mountains on the banks of the river Godavari. There are many Hindu temples around Nashik, as it is a site of pilgrimage.  The Kumbh Mela takes place here once every 12 years and attracts over 100 million people.  The city also features in the Ramayana story.  On the Sunday morning we went there were many people immersing themselves in the water, and others using it for doing the weekly wash!

There were all sorts of weird and wonderful things on sale as we wandered around the streets.

We ate at the Sula Vineyards and also did a vineyard tour and sampled some of their new wines.

The Australian Band, The Cat Empire, were my favourite band at the Sula Fest, however all the bands we saw on Saturday were great.

The following day we went to another vineyard (York) which was actually much more picturesque than Sula.  We again had a nice tasting, followed by lunch.

Wadis and Beaches

After visiting the inland, mountainous areas of Oman, we set off back to the coast. We went to Wadi Bani Khalid on the way to Sur. All year round water flows from a natural spring in the wadi, so there is a lot of vegetation on the wadi floor.

The water in the wadi collects in a series of deep pools. The water was an amazing turquoise colour.

This man crossed the pool on a sort of stone bridge - with his donkey!

Lunch - a pack of dates (delicious).

We stayed one night at Sur. We were hoping to get to see the Turtle Beach, but in the end decided that it might be a long drive and at the end of it we might not even see any turtles.

  

The following day we walked around Al Ayjah - a small, sleepy place with a large lighthouse and several watchtowers.

Then we set off for a drive north of Muscat, stopping at the way at Yitti Beach.

Our final night in Oman was spent on the coast at Al Sawadi.  The coastal resorts were very quiet, which was a surprise considering it was still the holiday period.  The beach was practically deserted, except for the seagulls.

Lots of seagulls at the Daymaniyat Islands