Golconda Fort....

An incredible and wonderful fort...

I visited this place during my third year tour.

Introduction:

Located west of Hyderabad, capital of ancient Hyderabad state (c. 1364–1512), it was later one of the five Muslim kingdoms of the Deccan known as Deccan sultanates until it was captured by the Mughal Aurangzeb's forces in 1687.

It was very famous for its diamond mines.

History:

According to a legend, the fort derives its name from Golla Konda, its a Telugu word for Shepherd's Hill. It is believed that a shepherd boy came across an idol on the hill. This led to the construction of a mud fort by the then Kakatiya dynasty ruler of the kingdom around the site.

This was later conquered by the Islamic Bahmani Sultanat. The fort became the capital of a major province in the Sultanate and after its collapse the capital of the Qutb Shahi kings. The fort finally fell into ruins after a siege and its fall to Mughal emperor Aurangazeb.

Features:

Golconda consists of four distinct forts with a 10 km long outer wall with 87 semi circular bastions. Still mounted with cannons, eight gateways, four drawbridges and number of royal apartments and halls, temples, mosques, magazines, stables etc, inside. The lowest of these is the outermost enclosure into which
we enter by the "Fateh Darwaza" (Victory gate, so called after Aurangzeb’s triumphant army marched in through this gate) studded with giant iron spikes (to prevent elephants from battering them down) near the south-eastern corner.

At Fateh Darwaza can be experienced the fantastic acoustic effects, characteristic of the engineering marvels at Golconda. A hand clap at a certain point below the dome at the entrance reverberates and can be heard clearly at the 'Bala Hisar' pavilion, the highest point almost a kilometre away, this worked as a warning note to the royals in case of an attack.

Soldiers Selection:

We saw a weight (dont know its actual weight), which was lifted by four of my
friends together. The guide then said that the soldiers of this fort has to lift it &
had to walk some distance that too individually. We heard this with openmouthed. That much strength they had.

The Court:

Then we saw a place where judgements are given to various punishments. The king will be seated in the top place much above the accused person. The accused person has to stand in a circle, the speciality to stand in that particular circle is that any little bit of noise made by that person can be heard very clearly. This is made to protect the King while he is giving punishments as some person can throw knifes towards the King.

Tombs:

The tombs of the Qutb Shahi sultans lie about one kilometer north of Golkonda's outer wall. These structures are made of beautifully carved stonework, and surrounded by landscaped gardens.

Tomb-of-Subhan-Quli-Qutb-Shah

Tomb-of-Abdullah-Qutb-Shah

Tomb-of-Ibrahim-Quli-Qutb-Shah

Tomb-of-Jamsheed-Quli-Qutb-Shah

Tomb-of-Muhammad-Quli-Qutb-Shah

Tomb-of-Muhammad-Qutb-Shah

Tomb-of-Sultan-Quli-Qutb-ul-Mulk