Some facts about Hyderabad

The University Student in me forbids that I should write this all down without mentioning that most of it was taken out of lonely planet's India guide. I refrain from giving detailed bibliographical information. There, I have sinned.

Hyderabad and its sister-city Secunderabad claim a population of 5.5 million inhabitants (this is 2/3 of the population of Switzerland in one city). It used to be called City of Pearls because of its big role in the pearl trade. Hyderabad is the 'birthplace' of the famous Kohinoor Diamondwhich is a main piece of the British Queen's Crown Jewels. These great days have long passed and Hyderabad has lost some of it's glory. It is the capital of the Indian state Andra Pradesh and is located in the Western Part of the state. Andra Pradesh's people are 95% Hindus while Hyderabad is almost 50% Muslim.

The reason for there being so many Muslims is Hyderabad's role in the history of the religion. In 1687 it was captured by the Mughal (a Muslim) Emperor Aurangzeb (yes, I'll stop in a second and come to the interesting parts). Many of the temples and religious shrines were erected during this rule.

When the English colonised India they established Golconda Fort in the early 19th century. The Fort is one of contemporary Hyderabad's major tourist attractions (pix will follow when I made them).

One of the major business branches in Hyderabad is IT. Lots of local and international enterprises have agencies in Hyderabad which is why Hyderabad has also come to be called Cyberabad. There is even a compound dedicated solely to this Industry: HITEC City (Hyderabad information Technology Engineering Consulting), lieing on the outskirts of Hyderabad. HITEC City as well as the other IT businesses have brought a lot of wealth to the city and the state, yet 55% of Andra Pradesh's inhabitants remain illiterate, i.e. they're neither able to read nor to write.

This is a very short summary of the theoretical facts about this city. I'm sure I will add one or two comments when I arrive there and during my stay, as my perception of Hyderabad is bound to be different than the one of some guide book author. I'll attach some pictures here, they were taken by a trainee from Austria earlier this year and I allow myself to post them here. Dada.