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 (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana 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 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 Musi may refer to: * Musi River (Indonesia) * Musi River (India), Telangana * Moosy River, Andhra Pradesh, India * Musi language, a Malay language spoken in Indonesia * Angelo Musi (1918–2009), American basketball player * Agostino de' Musi, real ...

. To the west lies the

Laad Bazaar Laad Bazaar or Choodi Bazaar is a market located in Hyderabad, India. It is located on one of the four main roads that branch out from the Charminar. ''Laad'' meaning lacquer, is used to make bangles, on which artificial diamonds are studded. ...

, 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"
''

words ''chār'' and ''minar'' or ''meenar'', translating to "Four Pillars"; the eponymous towers are ornate minarets attached and supported by four grand arches.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, 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, a French traveller of the 17th century whose narration was complemented with the available Persian 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 The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...

, 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 The Old City of Hyderabad is a walled city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India, located on the banks of the Musi River built by Qutb Shahi sultan Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 AD. There used to be a wall surrounding the Old City, most of w ...

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 Turkme ...

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 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, 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 Narrative, tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, r ...

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 The Asaf Jahi was a Muslim dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Hyderabad. The family came to India in the late 17th century and became employees of the Mughal Empire. They were great patrons of Persian culture, language, and literature, the f ...

rule, the southwestern minaret "fell to pieces" after being struck by lightning and was repaired at a cost of Rs. 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) 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, 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 val ...

, 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 Laad Bazaar or Choodi Bazaar is a market located in Hyderabad, India. It is located on one of the four main roads that branch out from the Charminar. ''Laad'' meaning lacquer, is used to make bangles, on which artificial diamonds are studded ...

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 I ...

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. 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 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 ...

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

. The Charminar also appears on coins and banknotes of the defunct Hyderabadi Rupee, the currency of the erstwhile

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and ...

. 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 ...

State, the structure also appears on the Emblem of Telangana, along with the Kakatiya Kala Thoranam.

Pedestrianization project

The "Charminar Pedestrianization Project" was instituted by the then combined Government of Andhra Pradesh in partnership with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. 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, illegal encroachments by hawkers, vehicular traffic, and illegal street vendors. Later during January 2017, the new Government of Telangana 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 The Qutb Shahi dynasty also called as Golconda Sultanate ( Persian: ''Qutb Shāhiyān'' or ''Sultanat-e Golkonde'') was a Persianate Shia Islam dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the c ...

Monuments of

: the Golconda Fort, and the Qutb Shahi Tombs, were included in the "

tentative list {{Short pages monitor A temple named Bhagyalakshmi Temple 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'' 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’ 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