HERITAGE CAPITAL HYDERABAD-2008
LOCATION: NEAR GOLCONDA FORT PERIOD OF CONSTRUCTION: 1518-1687 “I am I and you are you, and if in the end we are together, then it is beautiful.�
The Qutb Shahi tombs form a large, close group standing on a raised plateau. Nowhere in the world are there so many tombs in one place as here. Erected in the memory of the departed kings of Golconda, these tombs and other monuments of the Qutb Shahi kings mark a unique architectural style quite distinct from that of the Bahmani or Adil-Shahi kings. The Qutb Shahi style is a mixture of Persian, Pathan and Hindu forms. Each stands on a wide quadrangular terrace approached on all sides by flights of steps. The principal material used is grey granite, embellished with stucco decoration in places.
Originally each tomb had a mosque as an adjunct. When Aurangzeb captured Golconda his officers were quartered in these tombs. There are 30 in the complex, besides some in the open. Noteworthy among these are the tombs of the seven kings and the one of Hayath Bakshi Begum. Restoration work on these tombs was started by Salar Jung I and a wall was also built surrounding the tombs.
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