We went to visit this wonderfully, restored palace after visiting H.E.H Nizam’s Museum. I think visiting this palace deserve a posting if not a book by itself! 

I had to pay 500 rupees ( which is equivalent to slightly less than rm25 but its worth the ticket if this is to pay for expensive restoration work done compared to Indian nationals who pay 100 rupees ). Chowmallala Palace is one of the few palaces owned by the Nizam’s. This palace was recently opened to the public and much of the restoration work has been attributed to Princess Esra ( one of the ex-wives of the 8th Nizam , Mukkaram Jah ). Mukkaram Jah  died in year 2023 in Istanbul. Princess Esra is not of Royal blood but she is Turkish and now lives in Istanbul.

The 8th Nizam, Mukkaram Jah married 5 times . His lineage from his mother side was impeccable as she was an Ottoman princess and  daughter of the last Caliph , Abdul Majid II of Turkey . So , Mukkaram Jah is 1/2 Turkish .

Coming back to Mukkaram Jah, the 8th Nizam. He died in Istanbul but his remains was brought back to Hyderabad to be buried at the maseoleum of Mecca Masjid . He was the titucular  head from 1967 till his death in 2023. I had to look up the word titucular meaning a figurehead with no authority . He bought 220,000 acres of land in Australia and became a sheep farmer hahaha. While he lived in Australia, his palaces in Hyderabad were enroached upon and fell into disrepair . Numerous divorce settlements and failed business ventures ( meaning he squandered his family fortunes ) led to a loss to much of his family fortunes. In 1996 , he moved to Istanbul and subsequently died there . Also, Indira Gandhi imposed the Privy Act which led to many of the princes in India losing their land & hence their income. He accordingly begged his ex ( and first wife ) , Princess Esra to rescue his estate . She was his most educated wife as she had studied achitecture .She is not royal or have royal lineage .She as I have mentioned before restored this Palace and Falaknama Palace ( which I want to stay in but cannot possibly afford ) to which is now managed by the Taj Group of Luxury Hotels. I am assuming that the family gets income from this. Can check this out but this hotel appeared in House & Gardens .

The palace had a nice bookshop. Was tempted to buy exquiste little evening bags but had to stop myself as I do not go out to evening parties or weddings too often.

It was a lovely day walking around the palace.  To end this post , the current 9th Nizam of Hyderabad who is the son of Princess Esra and Mukkaram Jah lives in London and California. He is a cinematographer in Hollywood hahaha . I believe, he does not even have Indian nationality .

Furthermore, his mother Princess Esra who is Turkish lives in Istanbul but to give her credit , she is now on a mission to get the fabulous gems collection of diamonds & emerelds to be put on display in Hyderabad. The family sold the collection to the Indian government and this collection of fabulous gems now sits in the vault of the  Reserve Bank of India. I think from my readings, the collection is sometimes being displayed at the National Museum in Dehli .