Golconda Fort: An Ancient Diamond Trade Center producing <<Koh-i-Noor, Hope, Daria-i-Noor, Regent, Dresden Green, Orlov>> Diamonds

Hello Steemians,

If you are wondering looking at the thumbnail, let me share some details about the place. I had visited the place two weeks back and captured a few photos of the place.

This is Golconda Fort in Hyderabad city of India. The fort was built around the year 1143 but it became prominent in16th century during Qutub Shahi Dynasty.
The wall of the fort is almost 6 miles long and has 8 gates to enter into the fort.

The fort was acting like a diamond trade center as there were many diamond mines in nearby areas.

If you have heard of the Koh-i-Noor or Kohinoor diamond, one of the largest cut diamond in the world was produced here. As history tells, it was stolen by the British during their rule on India and it is now part of British Crown Jewels.
Here is the list of finest diamonds the region has produced (you might have heard some of them).

1. The colorless Koh-i-Noor (Now owned by the United Kingdom)
2. The blue **Hope **(United States)
3. The pink Daria-i-Noor (Iran)
4. The white **Regent **(France)
5. The Dresden Green (Germany)
6. The colorless Orlov (Russia)
7. Nizam and Jacob (India) source of this list: wikipedia

The fort was almost ruined by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb during the 17th century and later it has been listed as an archeological treasure by Archaeological Survey of India.

Today, the remains of the Golconda Fort has become a popular tourist destination in Hyderabad.

This was my second visit to Golconda and this time we were in a hurry as we were expecting heavy rain.

Here are some photos of the fort that remains. I forgot a few names but I tried to mention whatever I remember of the different building names of the citadel.

Mosque of Ibrahim:

Sultan Ibrahim had built the mosque in his ruling period during 1550 - 1580. The mosque is present at the upper portion of the Golconda Fort which means Shephard's Hill. The mosque has two minarets with a famous design that can be found in many mosques built during the Qutub Shahi dynasty.

A long way to go:

Bhagamathi Palace:

It is said that Bhagamathi was a Hindu Queen of Muslim Sultan. This place was built for the mystic queen.

The two minarets of Ibrahim's Mosque visible from the ground level and you can say the design was unique to be noticeable.

Taramati Mosque:

The citadel houses many mosques meant for different people and Taramati is one of them.

Rani Mahal:

The Rani Mahal where the queens stay is almost ruined. The ruins of Rani Mahal still represents the beauty in architecture and as said by the guide, the place was completely designed with diamonds and other costly stones.

The Baradari Darbar Hall located at the top of the Golconda Fort:

Darbar hall means court and is situated at the peak of the Golconda Fort.

Baradari Darabar Hall:

From the Top of Golconda Fort:

The complete city can be seen from the peak of the citadel. Imagine how the city looks during the evening with lights. Unfortunately, the fort closes at 5:30 PM IST and the view can be only imagined.

The interiors:

Most of the interiors are almomst ruined but whatever remains represents a great architecure built during centuries ago.

We had less time and a lot of places to cover. On top of that, it was raining every day in the afternoon which we had in mind. We quickly visited the place and headed back to our hotel.

Finally, on our way out, guys are ready for the photoshoot and started posing on the steps.

Hope you liked the Golconda Fort.
Cheers!!!