HYDERABAD

Street scenes from Hyderabad. The squarish structure with four towers is the Charminar. Built by Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah in 1591, it is to Hyderabad what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, or the Kremlin is to Moscow. Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which overlook four major thoroughfares and dwarf other features of the building except the minarets. The minarets are said to symbolize the first four khalifs of Islam. At the western end of the roof of Charminar is a beautiful mosque, which is the oldest in Hyderabad. The rest of the roof was used as a court in Qutub Shah times. Atop the great monument are 45 prayer spaces for the devout where they can offer worship in an relatively serene atmosphere away from the bustle of the city. The roof is now open to the public (5 rupees for Indians, 100 for westerners, at 45 rupees to the dollar) and I took a few shots from it.