Hyderabad

Hyderabad is the capital of the Indian state of Telangana, on the Musi River in the Deccan Plateau. Hyderabadi biryani, rice and meat cooked together in a sealed pot, is the dish most tied to the city.

Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, founded Hyderabad in 1591 beside the river to relieve the crowded fortress town of Golconda. The Charminar, a square monument with four arches and four minarets, was built in the same year at the center of the new city. In the 18th century the Nizams of the Asaf Jahi dynasty made Hyderabad the capital of a large princely state, and their wealth paid for palaces, gardens and a university. The city became the capital of Telangana when the state was formed in 2014.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, based in Hyderabad, makes generic medicines that are sold around the world. Pearls, which gave Hyderabad the name City of Pearls, are drilled, strung and sold in the bazaars of the old city.

Golconda Fort, on a granite hill west of the old city, was the seat of the Qutb Shahi kings, whose markets traded diamonds from the mines of the region. Chowmahalla Palace, the seat of the Nizams, has four palaces around a long courtyard with fountains. Ramoji Film City, on the eastern edge of the city, is a film studio complex with sets of streets, palaces and villages where many Telugu and Hindi films are shot. The Buddha statue in the Hussain Sagar lake, a monolith of white granite, stands on a rock in the middle of the water.