The Charminar () is a mosque and monument located in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the

emblem of Telangana The Emblem of Telangana is the state emblem of Telangana in South India. The arms has the Kakatiya Kala Thoranam in the middle, and the Charminar inside it and bordered in green. Design The emblem is a circular seal consisting of the Kakatiy ...

The Charminar's long history includes the existence of a mosque on its top floor for more than 425 years. While both historically and religiously significant, it is also known for its popular and busy local markets surrounding the structure, and has become one of the most frequented tourist attractions in

. Charminar is also a site of numerous festival celebrations, such as

Eid-ul-adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's comm ...

and Eid al-Fitr, as it is adjacent to the city's main mosque, the Makkah Masjid. The Charminar is situated on the east bank of Musi River. To the west lies the Laad Bazaar, and to the southwest lies the richly ornamented granite Makkah Masjid. It is listed as an archaeological and architectural treasure on the official list of monuments prepared by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

. The English name is a translation and combination of the

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Charminar: Hyderabad
Britannica Compton's Encyclopedia

History

Charminar during repair works - August 2016

The fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty,

Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (4 April 156511 January 1612) was the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golkonda and founded the city of Hyderabad, in South-central India and built its architectural centerpiece, the Charminar. He was an able adm ...

, built the Charminar in 1591 after shifting his capital from Golkonda to the newly formed city of

The

(ASI), the current caretaker of the structure, mentions in its records, "There are various theories regarding the purpose for which Charminar was constructed. However, it is widely accepted that Charminar was built at the centre of the city, to commemorate the eradication of plague", a deadly disease which was wide spread at that time. According to

Jean de Thévenot Jean de Thévenot (16 June 1633 – 28 November 1667) was a French traveller in the East, who wrote extensively about his journeys. He was also a linguist, natural scientist and botanist. Education He was born in Paris and received his educa ...

, a French traveller of the 17th century whose narration was complemented with the available

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

texts, the Charminar was constructed in the year 1591 CE, to commemorate the beginning of the second Islamic millennium year (1000 AH). The event was celebrated far and wide in the Islamic world, thus Qutb Shah founded the city of Hyderabad to celebrate the event and commemorate it with the construction of this building. Due to its architecture it is also called as Arc de Triomphe of the east. The Charminar was constructed at the intersection of the historical trade route that connects the city to international markets through the port city of

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the mandal headquarte ...

. The Old City of Hyderabad was designed with Charminar as its centrepiece. The city was spread around the Charminar in four different quadrants and chambers, segregated according to the established settlements. Towards the north of Charminar is the Char Kaman, or four gateways, constructed in the cardinal direction. Additional eminent architects from

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

were also invited to develop the city plan. The structure itself was intended to serve as a mosque and

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

. It is of

Indo-Islamic architecture Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establi ...

style, incorporating Persian architectural elements. A sample of Charminar is said to have been created at Dabirpura/Nagaboli graveyard before the actual construction. Historian Masud Hussain Khan says that the construction of Charminar was completed in the year 1592, and that it is the city of Hyderabad which was actually founded in the year 1591. According to the book "Days of the Beloved", Qutb shah constructed the Charminar in the year 1589, on the very spot where he first glimpsed his future queen

Bhagmati Bhagamati (Hyder Mahal) was a queen of Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, in whose honor Hyderabad was supposedly named. She is also known by the name Bhagyawati There exists debate among scholars about whether there existed any Bhagamati at all an ...

, and after her conversion to Islam, Qutb Shah renamed the city as "Hyderabad". Though the story was rejected by the historians and scholars, it became popular

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

among the locals. Qutb Shah was also among the early poets of Dakhani Urdu. While laying the foundation of Charminar, he performed the prayers in Dakhini couplets, which are recorded as follows: During the Mughal governorship between Qutb Shahi and Asaf Jahi rule, the southwestern minaret "fell to pieces" after being struck by lightning and was repaired at a cost of

Rs. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

60,000. In 1824, the monument was replastered at a cost of Rs. One lakh.

Structure

File:Minaret of the Charminar.jpg, A minaret of the Charminar File:Charminar in detail.jpg, Details File:Clock of the Charminar.jpg, Clock of the Charminar -(installed by the 6th Nizam

Mir Mahbub Ali Khan Asaf Jah VI, also known as, Sir Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi (17 August 1866 – 29 August 1911) was the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad. He ruled Hyderabad state, one of the Princely states in India between 1869 and 1911. Early life Mahb ...

) File:The interior view of Charminar.jpg, Interior File:Mosque on Second Floor.jpg, CharminarSecond Floor File:Panoramic morning view.jpg, Charminar File:Charminar in Night.jpg, Charminar at night File:Minarets of the Charminar.jpg File:Charminar in tri-color lightings.jpg, Charminar in Tri-Colors The Charminar masjid is a square structure with each side being 20 meters (approximately 66 feet) long. Each of the four sides has one of four grand arches, each facing a fundamental point that opens directly onto the street in front of it. At each corner stands an exquisitely shaped, 56 meter-high (approximately 184 feet) minaret, with a double balcony. Each minaret is crowned by a bulbous dome with dainty, petal-like designs at the base. Unlike the minarets of

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

, Charminar's four fluted minarets are built into the main structure. There are 149 winding steps to reach the upper floor. The structure is also known for its profusion of stucco decorations and the arrangement of balustrades and balconies. The structure is made of granite, limestone, mortar, and pulverised marble, weighing approximately 14,000 tones apiece. Initially the monument was so proportionately planned that when the fort first opened, one could see all four corners of the bustling city of Hyderabad through each of its four grand arches, as each arch faced one of the most active royal ancestral streets. A mosque is located at the western end of the open roof. The remaining section of the roof served as a royal court during the Qutb Shahi times. The actual mosque occupies the top floor of the four-storey structure. A vault which appears from inside like a dome supports two galleries within the Charminar, one over another. Above those is a terrace that serves as a roof that is bordered with a stone balcony. The main gallery has 45 covered prayer spaces with a large open space in front to accommodate more people for Friday prayers. The clock on the four cardinal directions was added in 1889. There is a vazu (water cistern) in the middle with a small fountain for ablution before offering prayer in the Charminar mosque.

Surrounding area

The area surrounding Charminar is also known by the same name. It falls under the Charminar constituency.

Makkah Masjid

The monument overlooks another grand mosque called the Makkah Masjid. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the 5th ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, commissioned bricks to be made from the soil brought from

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

, the holiest site of Islam, and used them in the construction of the central arch of the mosque, hence its name.

Bazaars

A market exists around Charminar. Lad Bazaar is known for its jewelry, especially bangles, and the Pathar Gatti, which is known for its pearls. In its heyday, the Charminar market had some 14,000 shops. The Bazaars surrounding Charminar were described in the poem "

In the Bazaars of Hyderabad "In The Bazaars of Hyderabad" is a poem by Indian Romanticism and Lyric poet Sarojini Naidu (1879–1949). The work was composed and published in her anthology '' The Bird of Time'' (1912)—which included "Bangle-sellers" and "The Bird of Time ...

" by

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (''née'' Chattopadhyay; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist, feminist and poet. A proponent of civil rights, women's emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important person in Ind ...

Char Kaman and Gulzar Houz

Four arches to the north of Charminar are known as Char Kaman. These were built along with the Charminar in the 16th century. These are the ''Kali Kaman'', ''Machli Kaman'', ''Seher-e-Batil ki Kaman'' and ''Charminar Kaman''. At the centre of these arches is a fountain called the

Gulzar Houz Gulzar Houz is a historical fountain located in Hyderabad, India. It is located near Charminar. The fountain is in the middle of the road between Charminar and Madina building. The area between the four arches of Charkaman was a vast square ...

. The Char Kaman are in dire need of restoration, and protection from encroachments.

Influences

PK Karachi asv2020-02 img88 Charminar Chowrangi

Silver one rupee coin from the princely state of Hyderabad featuring the iconic Charminar Gate

Five-rupee note from Hyderabad anoyher side

In 2007,

Hyderabadi Muslims Hyderabadi Muslims, also referred to as Hyderabadis are a community of Deccani people, who are part of a larger ethnic group of Urdu-speaking Muslims, from the area that used to be the princely state of Hyderabad in the regions of Marathwad ...

living in Pakistan constructed a small-scaled quasi replica of the Charminar at the main crossing of the Bahadurabad neighbourhood in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

. Lindt chocolatier Adelbert Boucher created a scaled model of the Charminar out of 50 kilograms of chocolate. The model, which required three days' labour, was on display at The

Westin Westin Hotels & Resorts is an American upscale hotel chain owned by Marriott International. , the Westin Brand has 226 properties with 82,608 rooms in multiple countries in addition to 58 hotels with 15,741 rooms in the pipeline. History Wester ...

, Hyderabad, India on 25 and 26 September 2010. The

Charminar Express The 12759 / 12760 Charminar Express is a very popular train operating between the metropolitan cities, Chennai and Hyderabad. From November 2020, it was extended to instead of having additional stoppage at , without touching Chennai Central. ...

is an express train named after the Charminar, which runs between

and

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. The Charminar also appears on coins and banknotes of the defunct

Hyderabadi Rupee The Hyderabadi Rupee was the currency of the Hyderabad State from 1918 to 1959. It coexisted with the Indian rupee from 1950. Like the Indian rupee, it was divided into 16 annas, each of 12 pai. Coins were issued in copper (later bronze) for de ...

, the currency of the erstwhile Hyderabad State. As an icon of the city of

as well as the

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

State, the structure also appears on the

Emblem of Telangana The Emblem of Telangana is the state emblem of Telangana in South India. The arms has the Kakatiya Kala Thoranam in the middle, and the Charminar inside it and bordered in green. Design The emblem is a circular seal consisting of the Kakatiy ...

, along with the Kakatiya Kala Thoranam.

Pedestrianization project

The "Charminar Pedestrianization Project" was instituted by the then combined

Government of Andhra Pradesh Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as, GOAP, or, Andhra Government, is the subnational government for the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is an elected government with 175 MLAs elected to the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh fo ...

in partnership with the

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, commonly known as the GHMC is the civic body that oversees Hyderabad, the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the local government for the cities of Hyderabad and Secund ...

. The project was initiated in 2006 with an investment of Rs 35 crore. However, the project did not see the light of day due to various factors such as

Telangana movement The Telangana movement refers to a movement for the creation of a separate state, Telangana, from the pre-existing state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The new state corresponds to the Telugu-speaking portions of the erstwhile princely state of H ...

, illegal encroachments by hawkers, vehicular traffic, and illegal street vendors. Later during January 2017, the new

Government of Telangana The Government of Telangana also known as Telangana Government, is the governing authority of the state of Telangana in India. It consists of an executive, a judiciary and a legislative. The state government is headed by the Governor of Tela ...

introduced a 14-member French Delegation to take over the project to assess the feasibility in developing the monument as an eco-friendly tourism and heritage destination. The team has inspected surrounding areas such as the Gulzar house, Macca Masjid, Lad Bazar, and Sardar Mahal.

UNESCO World Heritage Site tentative list

Charminar, along with the Qutb Shahi Monuments of

: the

Golconda Fort Fort (Telugu: గోల్కొండ, romanized: ''Gōlkōnḍa'') is a historic fortress and ruined city located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was originally called Mankal. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparud ...

, and the

Qutb Shahi Tombs The Qutub Shahi Tombs are located in the Ibrahim Bagh (garden precinct), close to the famous Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India. They contain the tombs and mosques built by the various kings of the Qutub Shahi dynasty. The galleries of the sma ...

, were included in the " tentative list" of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. The monument was submitted by the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO on September 10, 2010.

Temple structure

A temple named

Bhagyalakshmi Temple Bhagyalakshmi temple is a shrine dedicated to a Hindu goddess located in Hyderabad, India. This temple is located adjacent to the city's historic monument Charminar. Charminar is under care of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), while a Hindu ...

is located at the base of Charminar. The

(ASI) which manages the Charminar has declared the temple structure as an unauthorised construction. Hyderabad High Court has stopped any further expansion of the temple. While the origin of the temple is currently disputed, the current structure that houses the idol was erected in the 1960s. In 2012, ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' newspaper published an old photograph showing that the temple structure never existed. The Hindu also released a note asserting the authenticity of the photographs, and clearly stated that there was no temple structure in photos taken in 1957 and 1962. Additionally, it showed photos that provide evidence that the temple is a recent structure - a temple structure can be seen in photos taken in 1990 and 1994. Also, a temple is seen in a photograph taken in 1986 which is kept in the Aga Khan Visual Archive,

MIT Libraries The library system of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT Libraries) covers all five academic schools comprising the university. The print and multimedia collections of the MIT Libraries include more than 5 million items, with ov ...

’ collections, United States, but not in the earlier ones.

References

External links

Photos of Charminar on HyderabadPlanet.com

Mushroom Minarette: An article published by ''Out Look India''.

complete history

A panoramic image of Charminar along with Old City of Hyderabad, The image is published in Earth Platinum Atlacharmin

Is the Charminar-Charkaman Central Square incomplete without the palaces?
{{Qutb Shahi Monuments Buildings and structures in Hyderabad, India Tourist attractions in Hyderabad, India Tourist attractions in Telangana Hyderabad State Cultural heritage of India World Heritage Sites in India Religious buildings and structures completed in 1591 Buildings on the Indian Archaeological Register Mosques in Hyderabad, India Qutb Shahi architecture