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CHARMINAR-HYDERABAD

One of the most remarkable experiences in the city of Hyderabad is its shopping markets where most of them are provided with all that make way for the heart to pound and the wallet to lose control. The markets in and around Charminar are supposed to be the best place in the city to contribute in the whole of the sub continent to cater the best precious and semi precious stones studded jewelry and antiquities.

Some of the best buy in the bazaar of Charminar include jewellery, pearls, handicrafts, apparels, leather goods and traditional crafts. The shops in the narrow alleys of Charminar market are the best place to shop for different varieties of genuine pearls. These pearls are available in different formats like the strings of the popular Basra pearl, to gold and silver bracelets studded with cultured pearls. Charminar is actually a mosque more of a monument in the city of Hyderabad built during 1591 CE which soon became one of the comprehensive universal representations of the state as well as the country too.

History states that the colossus of Charminar was built in 1591 CE by the Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah. There are two stories behind the construction of Charminar. One narration states that it was built as a part of celebration of eradication of plague from the kingdom. But there are few other stories in the history which says that having madly fallen in love with a Hindu lady Bhagmati, the king built the monument at the same place where he saw Bhagmati for the very first time. Charminar belongs to the Tazia architectural style where it houses a mosque along with a huge area to conduct prayer session.

Three Main Areas are Chitarai Veethi, Maasi Veethi and Veli Veethi

Charminar in the city of Hyderabad is situated on the east bank of Musi river and surrounded by number of shopping markets in its vicinity. The most popular Laad bazaar noted for its lac bangles is located to its Northeast and towards the west terminus lays the granite-made richly ornamented Makkah Masjid. Charminar which is also referred by the natives of Hyderabad as the Mecca of the South is nearly a 400 year old monument. Charminar is synonymous with the city of Hyderabad.

Charminar one of the most crowded and busiest market in the city of Hyderabad is a prosperous and bazaar surrounded by noteworthy markets like the Laad bazaar and the Pather Gatti. Laad bazaar is very popular both among the natives and the tourists for its exclusive lac bangles and Pather Gatti is famous for pearls. During the heyday or in its prime period, Charminar housed nearly 14,000 shops. If we want to indulge in real shopping experience in the city of Hyderabad then the best place to take a trip is to old city or Charminar.

Charminar noted for Bangle shops:

The main monogram of Charminar is the hustle and bustle and flocked by shoppers. Charminar is always filled with an assorted crowd with the streets dotted with shops and wares displayed on the pavements too for the shopper's convenience. At Charminar there are bangles of different varieties and rates based on the size their pocket can buy- bangles ranging from hundreds to thousands. Lac bangles are the specialty of Hyderabad which is studded with colorful semi precious stones and artificial diamonds are found in abundance in the shops of Charminar.

Apart from the Lac bangles, Charminar is also known for other bangles of different makes like glass, metal, brass and silver bangles which are also the specialties of Laad bazaar. There is one full lane in Charminar with hundreds of shops entirely dedicated to bangles. Charminar is the only place in the whole country where we can spot more than 40 bangle shops enclosed in one area. Not only the show- cased stores but also the mobile push carts and street side vendors also display an overwhelming and startling variety of bangles. Charminar has to offer something for everyone visiting the market. Apart from lac bangle, shopping at Charminar is also noted for its jewellery shopping like earrings, necklace and bracelets with glitters and gleams everywhere we turn around. Most of the jewelry items sold in Charminar are either studded with semi precious stones or pearls decorated ones. It is a very uncommon factor for a girl or a woman to say no to jewels especially the colorful bangles sold in this bazaar.

Some shops sell fabrics, perfumes:

There are also hundreds of shops in Charminar where we can also find shops selling khara dupattas, embroidered with zardozi works, and the famous natural attar perfumes. This is the perfect place to find jhumkas and other earrings in faux kundan, polki and other designs. Most of the high-end shops and Malls in Hyderabad sell the same products but still priced at a much high rate. So the best place to get fair deals of all the accessories is Charminar.

Charminar noted for artificial Pearls

Hyderabad being the Pearl City and one of the largest pearl trading hubs in the world we can find different varieties of pearls ranging from a few hundred rupees to lacs of rupees. Tonnes and tonnes of pearls arrive here and undergo various stages of production like drilling, sorting, sizing, designing, and threading. But we need to study the product very carefully for even the duplicate can sometimes easily replace the original.

Good place to shop for Ittar and footwear :

Ittar is sold in number of stores in Charminar and they are available in varying fragrances like jasmine to rose, lilies to woody notes and much more. There are lots of choices of the Ittar products. This is supposed to be a natural perfume obtained from lot of botanical sources. The shopkeepers selling the ittar claim that they import it from different countries like Diors and Guccis.

Though there are no shops in Charminar selling branded footwear there are so many stores and shops on the pavements selling colorful vibrant foot wears. Most of the college goers and teenagers prefer to buy footwear from here because they can match with their everyday costume. Most of the footwear sold here are available at a throw away price. Charminar market is one place in Hyderabad which has thousands of shops and most of them are into selling of accessories. The shops at Charminar sell everything from traditional to modern, but still the natives of Hyderabad prefer to go with the traditional things. Some of the main markets in and around Charminar are the kaaman near Charminar, Erragadda Cross Roads, Abids, Nampally Cross Roads, Mangalghat and Barkas. Another specialty of Charminar is its Sunday market where places like Abids, Erragadda and Nampally become very active with their bizarre, unearthy, interesting, tropical, useful, useless, huge, tiny, mystic, antique wares.

The market which gets active on Thursdays and Tuesdays are Barkas and Mangalghat. Makeshift stalls filled to the brim with everything from empty perfume bottles to nifty antiques at throwaway prices. There is a flea market situated just at the entrance of Charminar in a place called kaaman just before entering Charminar. The flea market attracts all kinds of buyers where they sell typical touristy stuff like coins favored by foreigners or souvenirs, bamboo work or old spectacles. The temporary shops at Charminar which keep changing their place also sell electronic gadgets like music appliances, remotes, TV's and many more.

Rickshaws and cars are barred entrance from Charminar end of the strip due to the narrow crowded street, and only bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, and pedestrians are allowed to enter. No three or four wheelers like rickshaws and cars are allowed to enter the Charminar for they are barred from entering at the entrance of Charminar. The reason for not letting these vehicles inside the market is that because of the very narrow streets and lanes it leads into a heavy traffic. So entry is granted for vehicles like bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, and pedestrians only. At Charminar apart from the bangles one can also go in for the purchase of artificial jewellery, silverwares, saris, Kalamkari paintings, antiques, traditional Khara dupattas, spices, brocaded fabrics, perfumes and much more. It is a feeling of happy satisfaction and delight to even look and wear the lac bangles where each one is studded with tens, hundreds or even thousands of shiny colored bright stones. The famous bazaars in and around this area are the Begum bazaar noted for its brassware, Sultan Bazaar and Mahatma Gandhi Road. It is a very rewarding bazaar especially for the women because there are innumerable stores dealing with a vast and colorful collection of stuff such as semi-precious stones, pearls, saris, and jewelry.