Charminar, the Icon of Hyderabad

Charminar

The Icon of Hyderabad

See also: FAM (familiarization) tour of Hyderabad and Warangal

“At Hyderabad’s centre stood the great Char Minar, a monumental gateway formed by quadrant of arches rising to four domed minarets. The Char Minar marked the meeting of the city’s two principle bazars, where the road from the craggy citadel of Golcanda crossed with that comming from the great port of Masulipattanam.”

William Dalrymple’s White Mughals

Charminar, Hyderabad (view from the southern side)

Charminar, literally meaning four towers (Char = four, Minar = Tower), is synonymous  the Pearl City of Hyderabad. Standing on a traffic island in one of the the most congested part of the old city this monument is the icon of Hyderabad.