Misfit Travels

Chowmohalla

My sister, mother, niece and I went sightseeing today to see the Chowmohalla Palace near Charminar. First, a picture of Charminar, the distinctive landmark of my city, Hyderabad.

Chowmohalla is a complex of 4 palaces (which is what its name means) around a spacious courtyard with a fountain/pool in the centre. The largest is the Khilwat, which has a large durbar hall with a marble dais for the seat of the Nizam. The entire durbar hall is lit by 19 Belgian crystal chandeliers. Upstairs they currently have an exhibition of period textiles. We were not allowed to photograph either of the exhibits, but I have a couple of picture of the outside of Khilwat Mahal, front, back and side.

The entire complex is being restored by the Nizam's family, to whom it still belongs. There was also a photography exhibition of photos of the Nizam's family form early last century. We found some smaller interesting details, such as this seal on some fireproof almirahs made in 1857:

and the work on these doors and windows:

Plus, being the flower spotters that we are, we also liked these pink and white hibiscus:

Borra Caves

We drove to the million-year-old Borra Caves, which are a 3-hour drive from Visakhapatnam on June 28, 2005. These are limestone caves, carved out by the Gosthani river (now much reduced in volume) and were discovered by the locals when a cow fell through a hole and floated out into the river unharmed. The caves are estimated to be a million years old.

Stop at Tyda, enroute to Borra Caves

Enroute to Borra Caves

View of the Gosthani river just outside the Borra Caves

The hole through which a cow fell, leading to the discovery of the caves

Some of the stalactite and stalagmite formations in the caves, which are a million years old. My photos did not do justice to the caves, unfortunately.

Sridhar and I crawling through a tunnel in the caves.