There was  no way I could photograph the breadth of this magnificent palace so I found this above aerial photo as your introduction to Hyderabad’s Taj Falakuma Palace .  While many of the places  I stayed at during my two visits to India were in lovely palaces converted into hotels, frankly this one in many cases blew them away.  Let me provide a brief history before dazzling you with photos.

The palace was a regal residence of the Nizam (title of the hereditary leader of Hyderabad) Mehboob Ali Khan Bahadur, who was considered the richest man in the world at one time. ‘Falak-numa’ is an Urdu word meaning ‘Like the Sky’ or ‘Mirror of the Sky’ and as the title of this post suggests it is spectacularly set,  perched 2000 feet above the city of Hyderabad, spread  over an area of ​​about 1,011,500 square feet. The palace was the first to get electricity in the whole state of Telegana and has the largest dining table at 108 feet that can sit 100 people as well as the largest collection of Venetian chandeliers that have 138 arms – you will see these in a later post, but first let me share some external photos. This palace does not have a  “bad side:”

 

 

This was the setup for a wedding that was to occur during out stay – photo taken between the columns of the previous photo.

Before the wedding setup  views from the top of the steps:

Even the view directly above me was pretty

Courtyard:

Arrow points to my room, which was more like an apartment.

Whether starting the day or having a sundowner, this cozy spot provided great views:

 

 

Open terrace dining:  Day  and Night

Listening to evening prayers was a nightly treasure.

When a day was particularly tiring, there was nothing better than  getting back to my room with this waiting for me:

Even better,  a culinary delight – one of the dishes that Hyderabad is famous for – biryani:

I’ll let you digest this visually – and show you the inside treasures of the Falakuma Palace in next week’s post.

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