As close as I got to Falaknuma

As close as I got to Falaknuma
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

Yesterday I decided to just try to get near the Falaknuma Palace, since I had already hit most of my Hyderabad landmarks. It's outside the city, South of the Charminar, so it was nice just being somewhere less densely populated. It's a huge palace up on a granite hill, so you can see it from pretty far away, and can tell that it's massive. There are a few old mosques on the hillside that look like they predate the palace, and this temple, which marked the closest it seemed I could get up the hill without be chased by a security guard. Anyway, I walked up to the guardpost to see if I could talk my way in, and while I couldn't I spent a pleasant half hour talking with the security guard in Telugu. He was really nice, but not nice enough to let me in. However, in the half hour I was there, at least 4 other people in cars or on motorcycles tried to get in, too, to no avail. So, maybe it's not meant to be. And after all, a European influenced palace is nowhere near as interesting as the Indosaracenic ones around town, even if it's dining room table does seat one hundred.