aran islands ferry In 1724 the Hyderabad viceroy, Asaf Jah, took advantage of waning Mughal power and declared Hyderaba

In 1724 the Hyderabad viceroy, Asaf Jah, took advantage of waning Mughal power and declared Hyderabad an independent state with himself as leader. The dynasty of the nizams of Hyderabad began, and the traditions of Islam flourished. Hyderabad became aran islands ferry a focus for the arts, culture and learning, and the centre of Islamic India. Its abundance of rare gems and minerals the world-famous Kohinoor aran islands ferry diamond is from here furnished the nizams with enormous wealth. (William Dalrymple s White Mughals is a fascinating portrait of the city at this time.)

Hyderabad has one of the world s largest freestanding stone Buddha statues (Map p 898 ), completed in 1990 after five years of work. However, when the 17.5m-high, 350-tonne monolith was being ferried to its place in the Hussain Sagar, the barge sank. Fortunately, the statue was raised aran islands ferry undamaged aran islands ferry in 1992 and is now on a plinth in the middle of the lake. It s a magnificent sight when alit at night.