Aga Khan Trust to conserve Qutub Shahi Tombs

Hyderabad: The Aga Khan Trust for Culture has come forward to take up the task of conserving and beautifying Qutub Shahi Tombs here. The trust will spend Rs.90 crore over the next five years for the purpose. A memorandum of understanding on this was signed Wednesday among Department of Archaeology and Museums, Quli Qutb Shah Urban Development Authority and Aga Khan Trust in the presence of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy. Reddy said conservation and renovation of the tombs would help protect cultural tradition of the historic city of Hyderabad. The Quli Qutb Shah Archaeological Park, comprising of the Qutb Shahi Tombs Complex and Deccan Park, is one of the most significant medieval necropolises with 70 structures. They include 40 mausoleums, 23 mosques, five step-wells/water structures, a `hamam`, pavilions, garden structures and enclosure walls built during the reign of Qutb Shahi dynasty that ruled the Hyderabad region for 170 years during 16th and 17th centuries. The structures reflect the Deccani style of architecture. The complex consisting of royal mausoleums with massive domes, mosques and pools built in Indo-Islamic style are replete with crenulations, freezes, tile work, floral designs in plaster and stucco work. Aga Khan Trust for Culture has already entered into an agreement with Archaeological Survey of India to carry out a multi-faceted urban renewal initiative combining heritage site of Humayun`s tomb, the adjoining Sunder Nursery and Nizamuddin Basti in New Delhi -- jointly referred to as Delhi Project Area. IANS