|
 It is 11.5 km from Hyderabad. A magnificient deserted fort-city of the Qutub Shahi Kings, built on a steep, granite hill. In the 14th century the Hindu Kakatuya kings of Warangal gave the modest hill fort to the Muslim Bahmani Kings whose capitals were Gulbarga, then Bidar. Sultan Quli Qutab Shah (1512-43), the first of seven Qutab Shahi rulers, and his two successors, the brothers Jamshed Quli built the fort which was lost to Emperor Aurangzeb after his long siege of 1687. It followed the pattern of Gulbarga and Bidar fortifications but was larger and more impregnable.The legendary diamond bazaars lined the road up to the Fateh Darwaja guarded by Abyssinians.
A curtain wall across the gateway made it difficult for enemy el- phants to gather momentum. Inside the fort, there is a sophisticated Persian-wheel water system, hot and cold water pipesetc.Nearby are the more complete and just as impressive Persian-style, bulbous -domed tombs of the royals, silhoutted against the clear blue Deccan sky.
|
