Golconda Fort

I sit on a big rocky hill. My stone walls feel warm in the sunshine. From way up here, I can see the busy city of Hyderabad all around me. I have been here for a very, very long time, and I have lots of secrets to share with you. Would you like to know who I am? I am the big, strong Golconda Fort. I love watching over my city and all the people in it.

My story began a long, long time ago, in the 13th century. The first kings who built me used soft mud to make my walls. I was a small and safe place, like a little hug made of earth. But then, many years later, around the year 1518, new kings came to live here. They wanted me to be bigger and stronger. They stacked giant gray stones, one by one, just like big building blocks. They made me into a grand city with tall walls to keep everyone safe inside.

I have two very special secrets. Do you want to hear them? My first secret is that I used to hold sparkly treasures. I was a home for the most beautiful diamonds in the whole world. One was called the Koh-i-Noor. They twinkled just like stars in the night sky. My second secret is a fun sound game. If you stand at my biggest gate and clap your hands just once, clap, the sound travels like a whisper all the way up to my highest room. It is like a secret message flying on the wind.

Today, my walls are very old, but they are filled with happy sounds. I am not a home for kings anymore, but I am a home for fun and adventures. Children and their families come to visit me every day. They run on my green lawns and play hide-and-seek among my stones. They clap their hands at my gate and listen for my special echo. I love sharing my stories and my secrets with all my wonderful friends who come to explore me.