Els Slots

The Netherlands - 04-Dec-24 -

The TWHS Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate (2014) and The Qutb Shahi Monuments of Hyderabad (2010) both include the Qutb Shahi Tombs in Hyderabad. They have already been on the verge of nomination: examination by ICOMOS of the dossier was postponed in 2014 when India nominated 2 sites that year (they preferred pursuing Rani-ki Vav). 

I did a quick afternoon visit to Golconda Fort and the Tombs while staying in Hyderabad the night before going to the Ramappa Temple WHS. I can be short about the Fort: it’s like a fortress of which I saw so many on last year’s Pakistan trip, dilapidated and so large you won’t know where to start restoring it. As in Pakistan by the way, its origins are (Shia) Muslim – the local Golconda Sultanate (16th-17th centuries) had strong cultural ties with Persia. The current population of Hyderabad also comprises a large Islamic minority (30%).

The outlook on the Tombs is totally different from that of the fort. I wasn’t really prepared for what I would find here, being so far into my India trip (day 23) that I had gotten a bit sloppy about writing down notes beforehand. I knew there were tombs, my rickshaw driver yelled enthusiastically “Seven Tombs” (its popular name, because 7 sultans are buried here). But it turns out there are 40 of them in one 106-acre compound. Unlike most cultural sites in India, this one isn’t managed by the ASI but by the Telangana State. The tombs have been restored by the Aga Khan Trust (AKT) since 2013 (with additional funds from the US Ambassadors Fund among others). The complex also includes 19 funerary mosques, 6 stepwells, a hammam, remains of an aqueduct, etc.

And oh, what a blessing this AKT intervention has been. The park provides unobstructed views of the major tombs, clear signage and a decent information panel at each building with details about the monument's origins and the conservation process. They declared the project complete in July 2024. To my untrained eye, it looked like restorations on all but one monument have finished: only the Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah’s mausoleum (pictured) is still partly under scaffolding. Here they have been bringing back the green glazed tiles to the dome.

Overall, it’s a pleasant place to spend an hour or so when you’re in this city, especially in the late afternoon. There’s a foreigner entrance fee nowadays, but it is only 50rs (plus another 50rs for a camera). It wouldn’t surprise me if India is going to renominate this site in the future, given the big steps in conservation that have been taken here. Personally, however, I’d rather first see some of Pakistan’s tombs inscribed, especially the stunningly beautiful ones at Uch Sharif or the ones still surrounded by religious activity in Multan.  

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Michael Novins

United States - 14-Mar-16 -

I visited Hyderabad in December 2011, including Charminar (the city's principal landmark), Laad Bazaar and Golcanda Fort (15 minutes from Charminar by rickshaw), and had mutton biryani for lunch at Paradise restaurant in Secunderabad, founded in 1953 (paradisefoodcourt.com/).