Last evening after I wrote my blog, Charlie and I joined the champaign/palace tour. The name Falaknuma basically translates as Mirror of Heaven. It was built by a prime minister of the Nizam. This man loved European architecture and design. There isn't a thing Indian in the place except the workers and the ground it sits on. Lots of 18th century draperies, chandeliers, furniture, clocks, tiles, stained glass makes the place a museum. Apparently, after the Prime Minister spent hundreds of thousands of rupees and years of planning and building, the Nizam came to visit and fell in love with it. The Prime Minister, knowing what's good for him, suggested he had built the palace for the Nizam. Well, not exactly, but very prudent. The Nizam did pay him for the property. I took a few photos of a lot of the beautiful rooms. There was much more. After the tour, we went out on a balcony to hear a group of Sufi men singing Sufi songs and accompanying themselves on Sufi instruments.
Dinner last night in the hotel was in the "Italian" restaurant. They did have pizza and pasta, but the main courses were really interesting. The focaccia bread, for example, was accompanied by a pesto dip and raita. We had to taste a bit of the mango-basil soup. India meets Italy.
NOVEMBER 3 CITY TOUR.
We had a slow morning. At 10, John, our guide took us on a city tour. Our first stop was the Chowmahalla Palace. Original palace of the Nizams of Hyderabad. Apparently, it is patterned after the palace of the Shah of Iran. We stopped first to see an enormous hall, called the Durbar hall which was used for ceremonies. We stopped a bit to examine porcelain and glass owned and used by the Nizams, their houda, and their armor. The ladies room with models of the ladies and their outfits. Lots of examples of clothing they wore. Finally we looked at the cars the Nizams had used. A yellow Royals Royce that had only been driven only 300 miles in 100 years. While we were touring the palace large groups of school children were there as well. I took several photos of the kids who were delighted in trying out their English. "Hello" "How do you do?" When we'd respond, they'd giggle. They were really cute. VERY LOUD. But really cute.
After our palace tour, we went to the bazaar and walked around a bit. The bazaar is at the base of the Charminar, a structure in the city's center commemorating people who had died of the plague. We stopped after the bazaar at a small shop that made bidriware. Bidriware is basically lead that is molded into shapes. Then, once cooled, it is carved and inlayed with silver. We watched the work involved, which was painstaking and detailed. I was just a bit sorry I didn't appreciate the final product too much.
We then went to the Salar Jung museum. He was a wealthy man who collected thousands of objets d'art from all around the world. We only visited the Indian art section of the place. To be honest, I really didn't think this sounded so good, but I was wrong. It was fascinating. Some of the pieces we saw were spectacular. A magnificent marble Ganesh (elephant headed god) sitting on a lotus, some amazing pieces of ivory carvings, and some full sized marble carvings of woman wearing light cloth. The latter really didn't look like stone at all.
At the end we drove passed Hussain Sagar, a large reservoir that has Hyderabad on one side and Secunderabad, another city, on the other. I can't help but think of the movie, "The Man Who Would Be King" whenever I hear about Secunderabad. We stopped at a crafts shop, the owners of which were from Kashmir. We were horribly disappointing to them since we only bought a pillow cover.
A lovely hall called the Jade Room. It was probably my favorite of the rooms. The central case enclosed a lovely, huge Japanese vase
The ball room filled with other people from our tour
The billiards room. The Nizam had a beautiful pool cue made for himself and ivory pool balls. Apparently, he never lost, or no one ever let him lose.
One of the longest dining tables in the world. It can seat 101 people. The Nizam sat in the center.
The Sufi's singing their song on the balcony. The yellow box was an accordion of sorts. The man in the blue shirt was playing castanet like sticks. In the back of the group men were playing drums.
After the tour we went back to get a photo of the queen's bathtub. The first of its kind with hot and cold taps and a shower.
The library. It houses over 4000 books including a 1911 set of Encyclopedia Britanica and a book written about the sinking of the Titanic from one of the Titanic's survivors.
A view of the main palace from just outside our room first thing in the morning.
Dinner last night in the hotel was in the "Italian" restaurant. They did have pizza and pasta, but the main courses were really interesting. The focaccia bread, for example, was accompanied by a pesto dip and raita. We had to taste a bit of the mango-basil soup. India meets Italy.
NOVEMBER 3 CITY TOUR.
We had a slow morning. At 10, John, our guide took us on a city tour. Our first stop was the Chowmahalla Palace. Original palace of the Nizams of Hyderabad. Apparently, it is patterned after the palace of the Shah of Iran. We stopped first to see an enormous hall, called the Durbar hall which was used for ceremonies. We stopped a bit to examine porcelain and glass owned and used by the Nizams, their houda, and their armor. The ladies room with models of the ladies and their outfits. Lots of examples of clothing they wore. Finally we looked at the cars the Nizams had used. A yellow Royals Royce that had only been driven only 300 miles in 100 years. While we were touring the palace large groups of school children were there as well. I took several photos of the kids who were delighted in trying out their English. "Hello" "How do you do?" When we'd respond, they'd giggle. They were really cute. VERY LOUD. But really cute.
The Durbar Hall with the Nizam's throne in the center
School boys playing a game
The "how do you do?" girls.
After our palace tour, we went to the bazaar and walked around a bit. The bazaar is at the base of the Charminar, a structure in the city's center commemorating people who had died of the plague. We stopped after the bazaar at a small shop that made bidriware. Bidriware is basically lead that is molded into shapes. Then, once cooled, it is carved and inlayed with silver. We watched the work involved, which was painstaking and detailed. I was just a bit sorry I didn't appreciate the final product too much.
A man selling paan leaves. These are leaves from the betel tree that are rolled up and chewed then the juice is spat out. Apparently it provides a bit of a high and it's a stimulant.
Market scenes
More market scenes. Hyderabad is about 40% Islamic
Charlie and I standing in front of the Charminar
More of the Bazaar
Some more photos - the place fascinated me
The man in the photo is stuffing the huge pillows with wool. You can just see the wool inside the doorway. None of it looked particularly clean. Once stuffed, he sewed the pillows shut.
The back of our guide John
John again, and a cart filled with wares
A man working on the bidriware
We then went to the Salar Jung museum. He was a wealthy man who collected thousands of objets d'art from all around the world. We only visited the Indian art section of the place. To be honest, I really didn't think this sounded so good, but I was wrong. It was fascinating. Some of the pieces we saw were spectacular. A magnificent marble Ganesh (elephant headed god) sitting on a lotus, some amazing pieces of ivory carvings, and some full sized marble carvings of woman wearing light cloth. The latter really didn't look like stone at all.
At the end we drove passed Hussain Sagar, a large reservoir that has Hyderabad on one side and Secunderabad, another city, on the other. I can't help but think of the movie, "The Man Who Would Be King" whenever I hear about Secunderabad. We stopped at a crafts shop, the owners of which were from Kashmir. We were horribly disappointing to them since we only bought a pillow cover.
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