Architectural drawcard of Hyderabad | Sunday Observer

Architectural drawcard of Hyderabad

10 December, 2017

This is Golkonda Fort - the magnificent fortress complex in Hyderabad. The history of Golkonda dates to the early 13th century when the Kakatiya Dynasty ruled the region. Although the invasion of modern architecture is quite apparent all over the city, this 13th century heritage site remains the most fabulous tourism attraction of the Telangana state of India.

Heritage

During the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) which took place in Hyderabad recently, Telangana state officials organized a cultural event supported by video mapping, showcasing India’s rich heritage, and diverse artistic skills. The delegates were received with traditional dancers and drummers at the main entrance to Golconda Fort for the grand dinner hosted by the Telangana Government, on the second day of the summit.

The American President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who led the US delegation also took time to visit the site during her busy schedule in India and discover the past of this heritage site.

According to Telangana Tourism information, Golconda (sometimes spelt as Golkonda) Fort was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Golconda which flourished from the 14th to 16th century. “It is situated 11 kilometres from the capital, Hyderabad. With walls ranging 17 to 34 feet in height, broken by 87 semi-circular bastions, some reaching 60 feet in height, and built on a granite hill 400 feet high, it remains one of India’s most magnificent fortress complexes.

“Even before the Kingdom of Golconda rose in prominence, the beginning of the Fort was thought to be in 1143, when the Kakatiya Dynasty ruled the region.

According to legend, a shepherd boy found an idol in the area. When this was reported to the Kakatiyan King, he ordered a mud fort to be built around it.

The fort eventually became known as Golla Konda, which meant Shepherd’s Hill, in Telugu. The area eventually became a heated battleground between three kingdoms, culminating finally in the victory of the Islamic Bahmani Sultanate and the fort became the capital of a major province of the Sultanate.

When Quli Qutub Shah declared his independence from the Bahmani Sultanate in 1518, the Qutub Shahi Dynasty arose, and Golconda became its seat of power.

Over the next couple of decades, successive Qutub Shahi kings expanded the mud fort into a massive and expansive fort of granite, with a circumference that extended to around five kilometres. The Fort remained to be the Dynasty’s capital until it was moved to Hyderabad in 1590.

The Fort was then expanded with a 10-kilometre outer wall that enclosed the city. In 1686, the Mughal Prince Aurangzeb started to lay siege on the Fort of Golconda, with the intent of claiming Hyderabad, the wealthy capital of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty. The Fortress proved to be as impregnable as its reputation claimed. It wasn’t until the year after, in 1687, when Aurangzeb finally managed to breach the Fort after a nine-month long siege.

It was said that the Fort only fell because of a traitor who sabotaged the gate. Today, the Fort stands as one of Hyderabad’s greatest architectural wonders. One of its greatest engineering marvels is the fantastic acoustic effects: one hand clap at a certain point below the entrance dome could be heard at the highest point of the pavilion, almost a kilometre away. This was said to be used for warning the royals in case of an attack. 

 

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