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| Charminar- Symbol of Hyderabad |
Charminar is the top most popular
and most famous landmark of Hyderabad city. The historical architectural
monument Charminar is the symbol of Hyderabad. Charminar is at the top of
Hyderabad tourist places. Every year around lakhs of tourists come to see it. If you missed visiting it, your Hyderabad visiting will be
incomplete.
Charminar is an Urdu word. It's
meaning four towers, Char means four, and Minar means Tower (pillars). It is
situated in the old city of Hyderabad near Musi River’s eastern bank.
Charminar is now the global icon of Hyderabad, Telangana. Charminar is one of
the top tourist places in Indian tourism.
It is about 429 years old
historical monument and a mosque, which is synonymous with the history and
tourism of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. At that time the place where Charminar
is built was located in the center of Hyderabad city. It is believed that
Charminar built at this place for administrative and regulatory purposes.
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| Inner view of Charminar |
Charminar Hyderabad History
The majestic monument
was built in 1591 CE by Mohammed Quli Qutb Shahi, who was the fifth sultan
of the Qutub Shahi dynasty. There is a lot of mythology behind its
construction. According to one, it was built to celebrate the end of the plague
which was spread at that time in Hyderabad.
Another story tells that
Charminar was constructed in the honor of Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah’s wife
named Bhagmati when Sultan change his capital from Golconda to Hyderabad.
According to popular belief, four minars of the Charminar stand for Islam’s
first four khalifs.
Charminar Hyderabad Architecture
It is an example of
Indo-Islamic architecture, that has some Persian architecture style in its
design. It is believed that Mir Momin Astarabadi of the Qutb Shah Dynasty was the
main architect who played an important role in the design and layout of
Charminar. It is believed that Charminar's shape inspired bt the shapes of
Shiya Tazia. Shiya Tazias was built to
commemorate the tragic death of Hussain who was Prophet Muhammed’s grandson, at
the battle of Karbala.
Square-shaped Charminar has
four minars in each corner of the monument. Charminar’s each side base having
20 meters (66 feet) in length, 56 meters high, and 30 meters wide. If we measure
from the ground whole monument structure has 48.7 meters in height. From the roof
of Charminar, its minars height is 24 meters.
There are four arches on each
side of minar which are 11 meters wide. All four minars arches open into a
plaza. Charminar building is constructed by using granite, limestone, and
pulverized marble. Each minar having 149 spiral staircase steps inside it for
going to the top floor of Charminar. Its main gallery having an open space for the
mass prayer on Friday. In the year 1889 four clocks were added in the Charminar
in all four cardinal directions.
According to a popular legend
about Charminar, there is an underground tunnel inside the Charminar which is
connected to Golconda Palace which was only used by the royal family of Qutb
Shahi. Around the Charminar, there is a market that is very popular for old
antique items, bangles Mughlai delicacies, pearls, etc. This historical
monument is now maintained by the Indian Government body, Archeological Survey
of India.
Salient Features of Charminar
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| Way to go on top in Charminar |
Charminar has many interesting facts that rarely visitors know.
- Charminar is called Charminar because it has four minars, it is easily and popularly known fact.
- Charminar is a good example of a perfect square that has each side 20m in length.
- Very few people know Charminar has four arches and the main arches have also four small arches.
- It has four clocks for all four cardinal directions.
- Charminar's every minar have four parts.
- There are four galleries at each minar which are found at different levels.
- When the Charminar was constructed, it was the first multi-storied building in Hyderabad.
- During the times of Quali Qutab Shah, Charminar images also appear at that time in banknotes and coins and were popular as Hyderabadi Rupee.
- It is believed there was an underground tunnel that was connected to Golconda Fort. At that time Golconda Fort was the capital of King Quli Qutb Shah and he built it for escaping during the war. This type of tunnel, you can see in Bada Imambara Lucknow.
Charminar Hyderabad Timings
- Opens daily for the tourist.
- Opens in the morning at 09:00 am and closed at 05:30 pm.
- After 05:30 pm, entering inside the Charminar is not allowed. But you can watch its beauty in the evening with various colorful lighting.
- The Charminar is illuminated both inside and outside from 7 pm to 9 pm. Then you can also visit at that time.
Best Time to Visit Charminar
The best time to visit Charminar
will be in the evening. I will suggest going to Charminar near to 5 pm it will be
the best time. In one hour you can easily visit the Charminar and after 06:30
pm when Charminar closed you can enjoy the shopping in the area of Charminar.
After 7 pm the lighting of the
Charminar started and it looks so beautiful in colors so you can take lots of
photos and selfies with it. It would be fully illuminated from both
inside and outside.
In the evening time, any city's
actual beauty can be seen. You can enjoy local popular foods such as kebabs,
popular Hyderabadi biryani, and other foods.
If we consider the season then
the best time to go to Charminar will be February to March and September to
November.
If you did not like the crowd and
want to visit Charminar alone then you should go in the early morning time.
This would be the best time when there is less crowd at Charminar.
Charminar Hyderabad Entry Fee
- As per popularity and famous in Hyderabad there is a very nominal entry fee, ₹ 25 for Indian Nationals.
- You can go up to the top of it with the ticket. Hyderabad looks beautiful from the Charminar.
- The ticket counter opens at 09:00 am and closed at 05:00 pm so you must go there before 5 pm before closing it.
How to Reach Charminar
Reaching Charminar is not a
tough job. It is so popular in Hyderabad so any local people can
guide you on how to reach Charminar from your location best way as per local
transport means. Hyderabad is well connected to all of the cities of India by
air, rail, and bus services.
By Bus: Hyderabad is well
connected to all of the cities of India by air, rail, and bus services. Mahatma
Gandhi Bus Station (M.G.B.S) in Hyderabad is among the largest bus stand-in
India. You can get the intercity bus from the Jubilee Bus Station in
Secunderabad. Charminar has also a bus stand for the local city bus.
By Rail: The nearest railway
station is the Yakutpura Railway station in Hyderabad which is approximately 2
km far away from the Charminar. The Secunderabad railway station to Charminar
distance is about 11 km. Secundrabad railway station is the main railway
station of Hyderabad and it is more connected to different cities and
states than the Hyderabad railway station. So reaching Secunderabad is
easier than Hyderabad by railway.
By Air: Hyderabad has an
international airport named Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad
that is about 24 km far from the Charminar. You can easily get the local bus,
taxi, and cab easily to reach Charminar here.
Charminar Hyderabad Address
Charminar Road,
Char Kaman,
Ghansi Bazaar,
Hyderabad, 500002
Telangana
Things to do at Charminar
You can do shopping at Laad Bazar. You should go to Laad Bazaar or Choodi Bazaar near the
Charminar is only half a kilometer from Charminar and very famous for Choodies
made up by Lakh. Laad Bazar is famous for bangles, jewelry items, precious
stones, pearls, lacquer bangles studded with stones, handwoven materials of
silk, cotton, gold embroidered fabrics, traditional Khara Dupattas, perfumes,
and silverware.
TouristBug’s Recommendations for Charminar
- Charminar Hyderabad at night illuminated with light so don't miss seeing it during the evening.
- If you love to collect historical things like coins, jewelry then you can purchase all these things at a very low cost near the Charminar market.
- I will recommend you must visit once if you are in Hyderabad.
- You should go here during the evening and enjoy the popular local food and snacks of Hyderabad.