Page:Sketches in India.djvu/101

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

XX.


British Residency at Hyderabad.




The Nizam's Palace, the principal Mosque, and the British Residency are the largest and the most remarkable buildings in Hyderabad.

The Residency, which is separated from the city by the river Moosey, was built in the beginning of this century by Captain Samuel Russell, of the Madras Engineers. The principal front shown in the accompanying view is distinguished by an enormous portico, intended of course as an ornament, but quite out of proportion to the building. The shafts of the columns, which are of the Corinthian order, are no less than sixty feet in height. These columns are composed of white chunam, highly polished. Their bases rest on a noble flight of steps flanked by colossal sphinxes. The interior of the portico, cornices, &c., are ornamented in the richest style of Grecian architecture, and the whole is constructed on the model of the Parthenon at Athens.