Hyderabad--Day 6

On Saturday Casey and Dan didn't have work. We had most of the day until our flight to Chennai.
Of course, we had breakfast. I revisited my favorites for the last time--

 dosa with curd and chutneys

Yogurt and baked yogurt (it's cheesecake!) My favorite flavor is mango. They also had a nice fruit bun that usually had some pineapple and sliced fig. Oh, and dragon fruit, which tastes like nothing.

I didn't try everything they offered while I was there, even though I think it would have been an adventure. There were new things every day, and even I wasn't brave enough for some of it.

 This one actually sounds good to me. But I was already full. I love the name.

There was always fresh orange juice and at least one other, like watermelon, apple, or mango. Then they had some really interesting combinations. This one I didn't want to try, it sounds cleansing.

Since Gracia and I had already gone to Salar Jung,  Karunesh, Naman, and Yuvraj took us to Chowmahallah Palace. This was the seat of the Nizams of Hyderabad, sovereigns of the Hyderabad state, until just after India became independant from Britain in 1947. The new Indian Union didn't like having an independent princely state right in their middle, so they annexed them a year later.

Notice the rattan screens over the openings between the pillars. This grand entrance hall was built open to the elements. That means pigeons. One got me on the way through the door.

What with all the chandeliers and other gorgeous decorations, it bothered me that the outer wall was just a set of pillars. But I guess it never gets very cold here, and at least the wildlife can get back out as easily as it gets in.

This covered porch ran around 3 sides of the courtyard. Nice place to relax.

There's a saying by William Morris that I like--"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." If Morris had been Indian, he'd have said ". . .useful and . . ."

Then we looked at antique swords.

 And stabby/clubby things.

And look how pretty the ground is here. Only in front of the main wing. But still.

We went through one wing where they had early photographs of one of the Nizams and several of his wives and children. No photos were allowed. But there's always the internet!

 They used to wear the sari very differently.

I think this was the official head wife. He had several.

Then we looked at the antique cars that the Nizams had owned. That was Karunesh's favorite part, but I failed to get any pictures. They all were most impressed by the canary yellow silver ghost rolls royce, custom made for the royal family. 

As we were leaving they sent us out by way of a photo studio where you could dress up to look like an old timey royal couple. It cost all of a 100 rupees ($1.60) which is a lot cheaper than you could get it at Lagoon. 



We said goodbye to the Hyderabad team members who came with us to Chowmahalla, and then we had a few hours to kill before we needed to be at the airport. Gracia wanted Dan to see the market around Charminar, so we went back there. 



These were the things that caught my eye the whole time I was in India.

 I mean, talk about fancy!



 They are so colorful! They reminded me of my mom.

We didn't see many women wearing these super fancy kurtees. Lots of fancy saris, though. 

More little girls in princess dresses.

On this last day, I finally went back to the pearl shop and bought a strand of pearls that were much less chunky than what I'd seen before but still that cool silver grey color. It was the single most expensive thing we bought in India. It cost $28.00.

And we went to a Karachi Bakery, which is another of the things Hyderabad is known for, and bought some Karachi biscuits. We'd never tried them, so we each bought a variety pack. From a survey conducted by me, I learned that the cherry ones are very popular with people in Chennai. We liked the chocolate ones best.

We had to go through a metal detector gate to get inside the Karachi bakery. Which reminds me--we also had to go through security gates at the following places, not including airports:  

Our hotel--and they scanned our bags separately every time.

Museums

The mall

On our first day in Hyderabad, this ice cream store made me laugh. We passed it almost every day, and Casey finally got a picture of it on our last day.

This was close to our hotel in the financial district. Anthony said they call it "the money mind."

And here is Joseph Anthony.