Golconda Fort – Part 1, Hyderabad, India

“Ancient monuments are full of wisdom, for they have been filled with what they have seen and heard for hundreds of years!”

Mehmet Murat Ildan

Golconda Fort – Part 1, Hyderabad, India

I sure feel dreamy, after so many posts on the heritage of Hyderabad. As I made my way away from the Qutb Shahi Tombs through the Banjara Gate to where it all began, The Fort of Golconda. 

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Mangalavaram hills came into prominence when a shepherd boy found an idol on it. The ruling Kakatiya king built a mud fort to protect the idol and Golla Konda, or Shepherd’s Hill in Telugu, thus came into existence in the 13th century. After the Kakatiya, the Bahmani Sultans took over the fort. Later, it came into the hands of the Qutb Shahi. The first three kings rebuilt the fort over 62 years and held control from 1518 to 1687 AD. 

Golconda fortifications and gates

Seven kilometres of stone-fortified walls have ramparts, gates, bastions, and armoury. Ensconced within are palaces, mosques, temples, pavilions, courts, gardens complete with water canals, fountains, baths not to forget drainages.

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A medieval Islamic settlement that offered every living comfort to its dwellers. Not just comfort, but the most advanced defence technology, acoustics, and waterworks that surprise engineers even now. Being an important diamond trading centre of the East, it catered to all kinds of travellers too.

Of the eight gates that guarded the citadel, only four are in use. Fateh Darwaza (Victory Gate) called so because Aurangzeb gained entry into the fort through it, Makki or Makkah Darwaza (Mecca Gate), Banjara Darwaza (Nomad’s Gate) and Bala Hisar Darwaza (Fort Gate). The last is the innermost, through which we enter the fort. To maximise defense, they used axial alignment for all these gates reflecting an Iranian tradition. 

The Citadel

The Qutb Shahi adapted the Persian concept of Bala Hissar (elevated or high fort) and Pa’in Shahr (lower city) to make this citadel three-tiered. As one enters the complex, through the winding Bala Hisar gate, to the right is an elevated bastion, also ceremonial. Over the pointed-arched gate are motifs of peacocks and lions, also a lotus in the centre emphasizing the Hindu origins of the fort. 

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The gate leads into the famous acoustic courtyard, an engineering marvel acting as a warning system in case of an attack. You can hear a loud clap made here a kilometre away at the highest point of the fort, the Bala Hisar Baradari.

Within this courtyard to the right, is a mortuary bath, there because of its proximity to the Murda Darwaza (Gate for the Dead). This gate exits straight out of the fort to the Qutb Shahi Tomb complex. Between the bath and the gate is Nagina Bagh (Jewel Garden). 

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To the left of the acoustic courtyard is the three-storeyed Silah khana (Armoury) made of granite. A pathway takes one past the ruins of the Naqqar Khana (Drum-Announcers’ Pavilion) and the offices of Madanna and Akkanna, administrators in the Golconda sultanate between 1674 and 1685 to the Rangeen Mahal (Palace for entertainment). The ruins tell the story of its beautiful past. 

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Palaces of the Ladies

Ahead, the Taramati mosque, Bhagmati Palace and Dad Mahal surround another sprawling garden. Historians infer the Dad Mahal to be eight-storeyed and the palace from which Sultan Quli doled out justice. It got gutted in a fire. 

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Behind these palaces, the path reaches the Khilwat, the Durbar Hall. This is the venue for the popular Sound and Light show every evening. From the hall, we can see the entire fortress of Golconda. Ruins of the stables and the kitchen, and the royal acropolis at the top of the hill, appear magnificent. 

Just behind the Khilwat, is the Zenana (ladies’ quarters). The Rani Mahal (Queen’s palace), her mosque, dressing rooms, and bodyguard quarters are part of it. 

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And all of this is just at the ground level of the fort complex. The second layer of the crested citadel is a climb away from near Nagina Bagh, or Khilwat or the Zenana.

Next week, pick up your stamina and climb with me to discover more!

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