As we made our way deeper into the heart of the old city, the throng of humanity and the dense mass of buildings crowded in on us. Aaron and I took some time off from our IT development project here and set out to see the historical center of this city that was once the home of the Qutb Shahi dynasty and the capital of a princely state ruled by the Nizams of Hyderabad.

The people, the languages, and the architecture of the city of Hyderabad reflect the mixing of hundreds of years of Hindu and Muslim cultures. On this day we were just a couple of American boys wandering in a city that did not feel at all like the cities we are used to in the States. We began to wonder if we should’ve just stuck to our computers and not ventured so far away from our hotel and our client's development center.

We didn’t say much as we headed for the center of the old city and the famous Charminar monument. It was built by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 to commemorate the eradication of plague in the city and everyone here said we should see it. Here is one of the grand archways we passed through on our way to the monument.

As we got closer to Charminar the streets led into an enormous open plaza that surrounds the monument. It was a sunny afternoon and thousands of people were out strolling, shopping, talking and selling their wares from small shops and street stalls. Here is what the plaza looked like.

Here’s what a guy from Chicago looks like as he ponders the enormity of the world he as stumbled into. Here’s what a guy from Chicago looks like as he begins to realize that these people talk about cricket not baseball, and they talk about lots of other things he knows nothing about. The strangeness of it all begins to overwhelm him.

Then in the midst of all this, the words of a goofy song from the summer of 1988 come back to him, and he remembers, “Don’t worry, be happy…” Maybe I actually could understand cricket he thinks; and then maybe I could understand other strange new things too. This produces a whole different frame of mind.

As we move through the crowded plaza we come upon the great monument of Charminar. The light of the late afternoon sun casts a faint pink glow on this impressive 400 year old building.

Charminar is an Urdu word that means four minars or Four Minarets. This is the monument that the Muslim ruler of Hyderabad built to thank the Almighty for sparing his city from the ravages of a plague that would have wiped out his people if it had continued. Here’s some architecture and I don’t mean systems architecture. It’s a powerful statement of thanks; it’s become the symbol and icon of this city.

Here’s Aaron and Mike saying thanks for the opportunity to get away from our computers and check out something entirely different. What a trip this has been.

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