Darushifa

File / Documentation

Name

111087_sv.jpg

Size

4.01 MB

Format

JPEG

Checksum (MD5)

c1048e9bb287280f33fb823634d9297c

Creator(s)

patron: Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, Sultan of Golkunda (Indian (South Asian), 1565-1612)

Time period

creation date: 1595, destruction date: in ruins, before 1927

Location

Site: ruins, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh, India)

Cultural context

Indian (South Asian)

Islamic

Description

Sultan Muhammad-Quli buil this Qutb Shahi-era “house of healing” or hospital in 1595. Located in the area of the same name, the Darushifa is a quadrangular courtyard paved with stone. It originally occupied some 6000 square yards, along the riverbank. This location, refreshing and cleansed with purifying garden fragrances was ideal for a hospital where the concept of natural healing held essential significance. With chambers for the patients, there are remains of a hammam or bath in the courtyard. A mosque and Saray was also in the hospital complex though there is no trace of the Saray now in 2006.

exterior, east view of the Darushifa hospital's two storied gallery from north, 2005

Work type

Hospital

Mosque

Medium

masonry

stone

Keywords