48 Gumbaz, Srirangapatna

This Beautiful tomb was built by Tipu Sultan as a tribute to his illustrious father, Hyder Ali (1722-1784 A.D.), after his death. The Gumbaz is situated at the eastern extreme of Srirangapatna. It Enshrines the cenotaphs of Hyder Ali, his wife Fakr-Un-Nisa and Tipu Sultan, after his death in 1799 A.D. The structur is laid out amidst a garden, Typical of Islamic architecture.

It is built on a stone plinth, with polished black granite pillars that run along the corridor around the inner chamber. A magnificent dome crowns the building whose ornate railings and turrets are decorated with ball-shaped finials.

Outside the tomb are the graves of Tipu's children, wife and his close relatives and commanders of Tippu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali. The Gardern also house a beautiful mosque Masjid-E-Aqsa which has 2 beautiful minarets.

Picture below shows the graves of relatives and the mosque in the background, Its an HDR Image, i was lucky enough to pull this of because usage of tripod is prohibited in the primises without prior written concent from the authorities, i was asked not use my tripod after i took this shot

One can find the grave of Tipu Sultan laid besides the grave of his father and mother (see picture below, the first grave is of Tipu Sultan covered with cloth which has tiger paterns on it, next one is the grave of his father Hyder Ali and to the extreme end is his mother (Not seen in the picuture), this is the best shot i could get as i was asked not to photograph inside the tomb.

The interior of the tomb is painted with tiger strip patterns as Tipu was associated with a tiger, (he was called Share-E-Mysore which means, Tiger of Mysore). It is said that the painting was done by a french artist and it is said some kind of special powder was used so that the color does not fade.

At the eastern entrance of the Mausoleum is a tablet in Persian script that speaks of a martyrdom of Tipu Sultan in 1799 A.D. (Picture Below)

Picture below shows the coridor and the wals of the tomb which is crowned by a dome. Tomb has two entrance with ivory inlaid doors and two windows with intricate artwork (which can be seen in picture below).