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Medak district is located in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Medak town is located 100 kms to the north of Hyderabad. Sangareddy, is the district headquarters of Medak. Other big towns in Medak district includes, Siddipet, Narsapur, Ramayampet, Gajwel, Narayankhed and Gummadidala.
Medak, a historic town originally called Siddapur, reached its pinnacle during the kakatiya reign. Medak has a citadel dating back to the Kakatiyas. It was built during the reign of Kakatiya emperor Prataparudra. Strategically built on a hillock, it was called the Methukudurgam (and Methukuseema), from the telugu word Methuku - meaning cooked rich grain. The main entrance proudly displays the double-headed bird "Gandabherundam" of the Kakatiyas. The Medak fort stands as an epitome of architectural excellence of the Kakatiya Empire. The water to the fort was served through a pipeline from a well inside the fort. It has three main entrances, the "Prathama Dwaram", the "Simha Dwaram" or Lions Entrance that has two snarling lions at the top of the entrance and the "Gaja Dwaram" or Elephant's Entrance that has a sculpture of two elephants interlocked on both sides of the entrance. At the fort one can see a 17th century cannon that is 3.2 meters long. The cannon has a trident etched on it. This fortress uses the natural topography to the maximum advantage with the rocky face offering it natural defences.
Medak district is adorned by many temples depicting fine architectural splendours in the Bonthapally (Veerabhadra Swamy Temple, located at 25 kilometers to the north of Hyderabad), Zarasangam, Edupailu (Kanakadurga Temple, 8 kilometers from Medak town, on the banks of Manjira river), Nachagiri temples (Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, 55 kilometers from Hyderabad), Siddipet (Koti Ligeshwara Swamy Temple) to name a few.
Medak district has typical Telangana culture.
The Medak church, the single largest diocese in Asia and second largest in the world after the Vatican, is a priceless heritage. This famous Cathedral was built with love and crafted to perfection. As the legend goes this church was born out of a famine that struck Medak during world War I. Reverend Charles Walker Posnett was posted as Reverend at Medak during that time. Moved by the plight of the people due to the unprecedented famine that lasted for three years, he proposed to build a great church at Medak in the year 1914. It took ten continuous years to complete this beautiful piece of architecture. With its massive dimensions the church can accommodate as many as 5000 people at a time.
The excavations at Kondapur,located 15 Kms from Sangareddy and 60 Kms from Medak, have brought to light the remains of Satavahana dynasty and a few Buddhist structures. The Kondapur Museum is maintained by the Archeological Survey of India. The Kondapur Museum contains about 8,100 antiquities at present. It houses the coins of the Satavahana kings which led some scholars to come to the conclusion that Kondapur was one of the thirty walled towns of the Satavahanas. There are the remains of Chaityas and Stupas indicating that Kondapur was once a great Buddhist center. Other things which were excavated and are on display include gold coin of the Roman Emperor Augustus (37 BC -14 AD), a few Silver coins, bead pieces of Terracota bangles, Shell, Ivory, Copper and Glass embossed with designs.
Pocharam Forest & Wildlife Sanctuary, located 15 Kms from Medak and 115 Kms from Hyderabad, was the favourite hunting ground of the Nizam and has been declared as a wild life sanctuary in the early part of 20th century. Named after the Pocharam lake formed from bunding of the Allair in the year 1916 - 1922, it is spread over 9.12 Sq Kms. Surrounded by lush green forest, it is rich in flora and fauna and attracts a lot of winged visitors, like the Bar-Headed Goose, Brahminy Bucks and Open Billed Stork. There is a center for Eco- Tourism where visitors can see five species of Antelopes and Deer. Summer temperature goes up to 46 C & in winter it drops to 6 C. The sanctuary is home to animals like Leopard, Forest Cat, Wild Dog, Wolf, Jackal, Sloth Bear, Sambar, Nilgai, Chinkara, Chital, and Four horned Antelope.
For the nature lovers Medak has places of immense beauty and interest.
Narsapur Forest, located 35 kms from Hyderabad, is spread between Gummadidala and Narsapur towns. This forest is spans over 30sq km. This has variety of trees, many lakes and supports wildlife. Lately, this has become a hotspot for Telugu film shootings.
Manjira Forest, located 75 Kms from Medak & 5 Kms from Sangareddy, is spread over 20sq km. The average width of the sanctuary is 500 to 800 metres. Nestling between Manjeera and Singur barrages, the Manjira wild life sanctuary comprises of nine small islands which are home to a number of resident and migratory birds in addition to Marsh Crocodiles and Muggar.
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