Hyderabad used to be a Muslim kingdom, ruled by the Nizams, from 1719-1948. There were 8 generations of Nizam kings. This may be one of the reasons why the city has such a large Muslim population -- 40 percent Muslim, compared to the all of India, which is 13% Muslim.
The Chowmahalla Palace was the home of these kings and their families.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that it looked exactly like one of the dungeon instances I saw while, ummm, I played, ummm, World of Warcraft! Okay, I said it. I was a level 38 Human Warlock! And it is strange how many times I’ll be walking around somewhere and I will realize that it looks just like a place I saw while I was “doing” something in WoW. There were crews getting the palace ready for an event later in the day – they were laying down tons of astroturf!
The second thing I noticed was that they had a garden full of my favorite flower – the plumeria, which grows all over the place in Hawaii, where I grew up. They call it Tipanier in Polynesia. Frangipane in Italian.I think they call it the Temple Tree here in India. 
The palace had gorgeous architectural detailing (another thing I’m bad at talking about is architecture!) and a receiving area for the king with a ceiling full of chandeliers.
Oooh…chandeliers.
This photo struck me as interesting. It is the last Nizam king (l) meeting the 1st prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru (r). 
I think it was particularly interesting to me because it brought these 400 years of Muslim kings in Hyderabad into a frame with a recognizable contemporary icon. And suddenly, there was personal context and relevance. And these two things are what I believe make the difference between remembering dates and events -- and making history palpable and actionable. 
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