All is not lost for visitors to Naya Qila area of the Golconda Fort. According to a reply to a Right to Information application, they can have unhindered access to the following areas: Bastions, Boabab tree, Mustafa Khan Mosque, Mulla Khayali Mosque, Naya Qila Bagh area and Interpretation Centre.
“There is a proper way that leads to these places,” is the statement by the Central Information Commissioner. Currently, visitors to the Naya Qila area are allowed only to the Boabab tree by private security guards, while the rest of the national monument under the custody of Archaeological Survey of India, is used by golfers.
The access to these bastions and other sites at Naya Qila is a virtual walk through history and siege warfare. Atop the Majnu Burj, which is reached by a flight of stairs, is a massive brass cannon said to have been used by Aurangzeb to bombard the Golconda Fort with little effect in 1687. Between Nau Burj and Khairat Khan Burj, there are separate gun nests for soldiers to pick off enemy soldiers with angled loopholes. The newest addition to the Naya Qila is a much-needed interpretation centre that places the garden known as Bagh e Naya Qila in its context. A fibre glass scaled down copy of the garden has been recreated in the area which used to be a settlement tank. But more than just being a beautiful garden, the Naya Qila is a marvel of topography engineering by Qutb Shahi forces where a raised ground was enclosed by high walls to deny advantage to enemy soldiers. Built after the 1656 attack, it was so successful that during the next attack in 1687, the Mughal army attacked from other locations.
The Mulla Khayali Mosque is dedicated to the first Deccani poet, while Mustafa Khan Mosque was built by Ibrahim Qutb Shah’s prime minister. The Mulla Khayali Mosque is stone and limestone mortar structure, while the Mustafa Khan Mosque is grander and built out of dressed granite.
