The doctors, Richard Bell, Robert Clark, Lonnie Miner, and Mark Sheffield, all arrived at the hotel this morning around 4 AM. Dr Clark left a note under our door that they would be ready to go around noon for a cultural day in the city. Susan Clark with AAP, also arrived on their flight and is part of the training faculty. She was invited to join us since the car will handle 7, so we've got a tour going. Following are some pictures of our afternoon tour of the Hyderabad area.
Hyderabad and Secunderbad are called the twin cities and roughly surround this lake that is in the middle. The statue in the picture is actually of Buddha.
Sometimes we just have to laugh at the Indian signs like this one at a construction area.
This structure is the Charminar and has a mosque on the second floor. It was supposedly constructed in honor of 4,000 people who died during a plague in 15 or 1600. One spire for each 1,000. There is also a tunnel that terminates here that leads to the Golkonda complex in the pictures that follow. We elected not to climb the stairs which was a good choice as it turned out.
The entrance to the Golkonda fort and palace complex.
Our group inside and standing on some of the 700 steps we climbed to get to the top of the top you can see in the background. Everything seemed to be in units of 7, but I cannot recall all of them.
Looking up, you can see the minarets of a mosque near the top.
This was a barracks area for soldiers.
There were diamond mines inside the fort area and the Hope diamond was one of the famous gems taken from them.
I was impressed with how the walls were built on and around the natural rock formations of the hills.
In the background you can see the domes of the tombs for the kings and their family members, there are 7 total, but you can only see 3 in this picture.
Sister Tanner loved how this house was painted. Do I sense a project coming on when we get home?
Taking a break on more of the 700 steps
Getting closer to the mosque near the top.
Looking down on the harem area which once housed 360 concubines and 4 queens. The king apparently took a day off each year.
Getting near the top and an outside view of the king's residence area.
The topmost building of the complex. We passed a Hindu temple that had been built after the moguls were gone. It is between the mosque and the entrance to this residence area.
The queen surveying her kingdom from the top.Note no jackets. Hyderabad was in the 80's, relatively clear air, and sunshine.
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