Hyderabad Favorites!

(Fourth down) This picture is a leftover from Delhi, where we went to Raj Ghat. Raj Ghat is home to Gandhi's grave; it is built on a beautiful part of green land, and has the grave in the center. The inscription on the grave written in Hindi says "Hey Ram," translated "Oh God," which were the last words that Gandhi uttered right after he was assasinated before he died.

(Bottom) This is a picture of the Hyderabad city skyline that I took while we were on a bus on the way into the city. Hyderabad is, population-wise, about the size of Chicago. One part of the city, called "Hitech City" is very new and Westernized, while other parts, like the Old City, are quite traditional.

(Middle) The Charminar is what most people think of when they hear the name Hyderabad. "Charminar" literally means four towers (Char=four, minar=towers). It was built by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591, and is located in what is considered the "Old City"-- also the Urdu speaking part of the city. Each of the four towers stand 180 feet tall. We got to go up the most frightening spiral "staircase"-- if you could even call it that-- and go to the top level. There you can see pretty much all of Hyderabad and its bustling bazaars!!

(Top) This is the view off of one of the sides of Charminar. Just a little taste of what traffic is like in India! (Awful, I hate it). All the little piddly cars that are yellow and black are autorickshaws. They're kind of sketchy, but if you're talented you can fit four or five people in them (on laps of course), and for a half hour ride it's only about 100 rupees, or a little over $2. Definitely cheaper then Madison cabs!!

(Second down) This is of my two roommates from Delhi, Dia and Marissa, and I sitting on the Black Bench. The Black Bench is in Mecca Masjid, the second largest mosque in India. It is said that if you sit on the Black Bench, you are destined to return to Hyderabad some day and sit on it again-- I guess only time will tell if the magic of the Black Bench brings Dia, Marissa, and I back to Hyderabad.