Hyderabad is one of my favorite cities in the world. Probably because three years ago I spent an unforgettable 14 weeks, thanks to my company that sent me there as part of kind of an exchange program. The best thing in India is its people, this I discovered during my first trip to India. During my second visit I was again surprised by the warm-hearted, friendly and welcoming Indians.
Three years ago I spent most of my weekends traveling all over India, there are so many interesting places to see that I did not want to miss any. But still I did manage to spend some weekends in Hyderabad, with Maya, my best friend. I have many good memories about the times we spent together, chatting sitting by her lovely terrace, going shopping for sarees and fabrics, going for a drive on her motorbike... I did not believe my eyes when I found myself in Maya's house again. It felt like going back in time, as if nothing had change.
We had a great lunch with Maya, Satish and Satish's parents. I loved to see Maya cook roti, and we so much enjoyed eating that tasty, amazing food with our hands.
Hyderabad is not very touristic, you only see one foreigner here and there occasionally. These are the expats that work for companies such as Google, Microsoft, etc in the High Tech City in Hyderabad. This is one of the reasons I find Hyderabad so attractive.
We also spent a memorable evening with Kavitha and her family in Secunderabad. They cooked a great meal for us, I found it very cute that they made food less spicy in our honor. We so much enjoyed spending time with these great people!
These are the places we visited in this my second visit to Hyderabad, that are highly recommended:
Charminar, mosque of the four minarets, is the most popular monument in Hyderabad. The Charminar area is a great place for shopping bangles, super colorful and packed with people. It is fascinating to walk the streets looking at the street vendors selling bangles, sarees, colorful fabrics. This last time I was glad that Maya was with us guiding us through the crowd. I loved it! We felt there was way too many things going on around us. It was difficult to look everywhere for not to miss anything, and at the same time watch out for auto-rickshaws, cars and people passing by.
I read that Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah, ruler of the city, moved the capital from Golkonda fort to Hyderabad, due to a water shortage. Then he built Charminar to thank God for the end of a plague epidemic in the city. Quoting wikepedia, in 1591 while laying the foundation of Charminar, Quli prayed: "Oh Allah, bestow unto this city peace and prosperity. Let millions of men of all castes, creeds and religions make it their abode, like fish in the water." Today one can see the city as evidence of the prayer being answered. And it is true. I am very much impressed by how well Indians from all different religions live together in Hyderabad.
It is possible to go upstairs, I did it three years ago. You need to go early because they close at 5:00pm. The view from the top is worth the visit, only if you are not claustrophobic and do not mind going up very narrow stairs with people going up and down the stairs at the same time.
Thanks to Maya, this time we did not miss the visit to Jama Masjid, that is so close to Charminar and also worth a visit. Here most of the nizams (the Muslim marahajas) are buried, and there is a bench build with stone from the Mecca where you need to sit if you want to return to Hyderabad.
After our visit to Jama Masjid I could not resist buying bangles. There are bangle shops everywhere, super shiny and colorful. Now I regret that I was not in shopping mode that day, because around Charminar you can find all the things I love: salwar kameez, sarees, kurtas, fabrics, bangles, earrings, necklaces... at a very good price, specially when shopping with an Indian friend.
Golkonda Fort is a very nice fort a few kilometers outside the city, also worth a visit. I read after the visit that Golkonda was the place were the Kohinoor, one of the biggest diamonts in the world, was found. It is a pity that the diamond was cut in three pieces and now is decorating the crown of the Queen of England. Many famous diamonds were also found in the mines of Golkonda.
When entering the fort, by the main gates, there is a spot where if you clap your hands, it can be heard up to the citadel, which is on top of a hill 90m high.
Upstairs it is lovely, with views to all the city and the countryside around it, very peaceful. Julian and I stayed up in the citadel until the sunset. Thousands of swallows flying in the air made the moment even more special.
In the afternoons they do a light show in the fort narrating the history of the city. I was told it is very much worth it. Unfortunately we did not have the time and had to leave it for our next trip.
Birla temple is another special place in Hyderabad. I was told there is a Birla temple in almost every city in India, but according to my Indian friends, the one in Hyderabad is the nicest. Probably because it has views to the city and the the Hussain Sagar lake. Birla temple is a big hindu temple in marble, with amazing carvings in the marble. A place to visit during sunset. You need to take your shoes off and can walk in the many marble floor terraces. The temple has several marble statues of Ganesha and other Hindu deities. It is a pity you are not allowed to take pictures inside, hope the memory of the place stays with us for very long.
Necklace road around the Hussain Sagar lake is also a favorite. Aravind Adiga said in his book 'White tiger' that cities in India have not been built for people to walk. I felt kind of this way while in Hyderabad. This is why I liked the Necklace road, because it is a very nice walk along the Hussain Sagar lake, maybe one of a few. This time our walk was not that pleasant because the lake brought a bad smell. Maya explained to us that Diwali happened a few days back, and during Diwali Indians trow poojas (offerings) to lakes that end up smelling nasty. A pity because I recalled this walk a very nice one during the summer.
