Hyderabad by Walk - Dabeerpura Gate

In my plan to get a complete sense of the walled part of the old city, I discovered that there had been 13 Darwazas along the wall. Of these I was told that only two were still standing - Purana Pul Darwaza and the Dabeerpura Darwaza. Having seen the Purana Pul Darwaza I decided to knock Dabeerpura Darwaza off the list before it joins the other 11 gates.

Dabeerpura Darwaza from the inside

We went past Darul Shifa, took a left at the famous Naan shop (which was making some lovely Naan early in the morning), and we ended up at Dabeerpura Darwaza. As with Purana Pul the road has been widened all around it and it is now an island. The gate is well kept and maintained and I wish they would not hang posters and banners on it and preserve its sanctity. The cute 'I Love Dabeerpura' to the left of the gate was very nice.  

The Darwazas were part of the 9.7 kms city wall which was begun by the seventh Sultan of the Qutb Shah dynasty Abul Hasan Tana Shah perhaps because Aurangzeb was bent on conquering Deccan and he wanted to fortify his defences. The wall was about 18 feet high and 8 feet wide in some places. After he was defeated by the Mughals led by Aurangzeb in 1687, the wall construction was taken up by the Mughal Governor Mubariz Khan, and then by the first Nizam, Nizam Ul Mulk, who completed it. The Darwazas or gates would open in the morning and shut by night and any travelers who arrived late would have to wait outside at the Sarais constructed for them. Today the wall has disappeared and they say small portions of it exist near the Purana Pul Darwaza and the Aliabad Darwaza.

Dabeerpura Darwaza from the outside

Facing the Musi and perhaps facing Delhi we start with the Dilli Darwaza and going left - Chaderghat Darwaza, Dabeerpura Darwaza, Yakutpura Darwaza, Mir Jumla Darwaza (Moghulpura Darwaza), Gowlipura Darwaza, Lal Darwaza, Aliabad Darwaza, Fateh Darwaza, Doodhbowli Darwaza, Purana Pul Darwaza, Champa Darwaza and Afzal Darwaza which was the last one to be built in 1961 by the fifth Nizam Afzal Ud Dawlah to provide access to the Naya Pul which was built at that time.

All the Darwazas and Khidkis (Mohib shared this)

Interestingly there were a number of secondary openings called Khidkis in the inner periphery.

While some parts of the wall got washed away in he 1908 flood, the State Government brought down most of the wall after Independence.