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Charminar (Hyderabad)
 The Charminar is as much the signature of Hyderabad as the Taj Mahal is of Agra or the Eiffel Tower is of Paris. Charminar stands in the heart of the old city. Built in 1591 to mark the end of an epidemic of plague it is a magnificent edifice. It is believed to have been built as a charm to ward off a deadly epidemic raging at that time. Built in the Qutb Shahi style of architecture that is unique to Hyderabad it has delicate stucco ornamentation tall "guldasta" style minarets and a mosque on its fourth & topmost floor. Four graceful minarets soar to a height of 48.7m. Charminar has 45 prayer spaces and a mosque in it.
Charminar is a magnificent square edifice of granite, built upon four grand arches facing North, South, East and West. These arches support two floors of rooms and gallery of archways. At each corner of the square structure is a minaret rising to a height of 24 meters, making the building nearly 54 meters tall. It is these four (char) minarets (minar) that give the building, its name
Charminar. Each minar stands on a lotus-leaf base, a special recurrent motif in
Qutub Shahi buildings.
The first floor was used as a madarasa (college) during the Qutub Shahi period. The second floor has a mosque on the western side, the dome of which is visible from the road, if one stands some distance away. A spectacular view of the city may be had from the roof of the Charminar, although, due to severe overcrowding of the minarets, only visitors with special permission from the Archaeological Survey of India, Hyderabad Circle are allowed to go to the top of the minarets. The clocks above each of the four archways were added in 1889.
Walking around the Charminar area, one is continually surprised by vestiges of the past intermingling with the present. Towards the Southeast of the Charminar is located imposing edifice of the Nizamia Unani Hospital. About 50m to the West, the line of shops in Lad Bazaar is interupted by an old, crumbling brown wall, which marks the entry to the old Nizama?s Jilau Khana (parade ground). The grounds are now being used for the development of a large commercial complex. Further down, a road to the left leads to the Khilawat Complex (Chowmahalla Palace). The Lad Bazaar road terminates in a square called Mahaboob Chowk where a large 19th century clock-tower looms over a delicate white mosque of the same period.
Timings
people are allowed (only in the cellar of the monument) all the day and during night times till 10'o clock.
How to Reach This Place
Air : Has international airport.
Rail : Being headquarter of South Central Railway , Well connected from all major cities of India. Hyderabad & Secunderabad Rly Stations.
Road : Hyderbad, being Capital city is well conected by Road from all major cities in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Maharastra and Orissa.
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