The karakoram highway
The Karakoram Highway, or KKH, is the greatest wonder of modern Pakistan and one of the most spectacular roads in the world. Connecting Pakistan to China, it twists through three great mountain ranges - the Himalaya, Karakoram and Pamir - following one of the ancient silk routes along the valleys of the Indus, Gilgit and Hunza rivers to the Chinese border at the Khunjerab Pass. It then crosses the high Central Asian plateau before winding down through the Pamirs to Kashgar, at the western edge of the Taklamakan Desert. By this route, Chinese silks, ceramics, lacquer-work, bronze, iron, furs and spices travelled West, while the wool, linen, ivory, gold, silver, precious and semi-precious stones, asbestos and glass of South Asia and the West travelled East.
For much of its 1,284 kms (905 miles), the Karakoram Highway is overshadowed by towering, barren mountains, a high altitude desert enjoying less than 100 millimeters (four inches) of rain a year. In many of the gorges through which it passes, it rides a shelf cut into a sheer cliff face as high as 500 meters (1,600 feet) above the river. The KKH has opened up remote villages where little has changed in hundreds of years, where farmers irrigate tiny terraces to grow small patches of wheat, barely or maize that stand out like emeralds against the grey, stony mountains. The highway is an incredible feat of engineering and an enduring monuments to the 810 Pakistanis and 82 Chinese who died forcing it through what is probably the world's most difficult and unstable terrain. (The unofficial death toll is somewhat higher, coming to nearly one life for each kilometer of road).
The Karakoram and the Himalaya, the newest mountain ranges in the world, began to form some 5 million years ago when the Indian sub-continent drifted northwards and rammed into the Asian land mass. By this time the dinosaurs were already extinct. India is still trundling northwards at the geologically reckless rate of five centimeters (two inches) a year, and the mountains are still growing by about seven millimeters (1/4 of an inch), annually. the KKH runs through the middle of this collision belt, where there is an earth tremor, on average, every three minutes.
Karakoram is Turkish for 'crumbling rock', an apt description for the giant, grey, snow-capped slag heaps that tower above the gorges cut between them.
The Indus River flows northwest, dividing the Himalaya from the Karakoram, before being knocked south by the Hindu Kush. the KKH hugs the banks of the Indus for 310 kilometres of its climb north, winding around the foot of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world and the western anchor of the Himalaya. The highway then leaves the Indus for the Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab rivers to take on the Karakoram Range, which boat 12 of the 30 highest mountains in the world. By the time the road reaches the 4,733 mere (15,528 foot). Khunjerab Pass, it has earned the name of the highest metalled border crossing in the world
Ziarat (Balochistan)
Pakistan has a number of beautiful valleys, enchanting their spectators with enthralling beauty but Ziarat's is importance and an archaic treasure of Junipers forests. Situated about 122 km in the north of metropolis city of Quetta in Baluchistan, this popular picnic resort is at the elevation of 8,200 feet from the sea level. The summers in the valley are always pleasant, attracting a number of tourists, and the winters extremely harsh. Junipers forests, which are one of the world oldest, are the main source of lush green vista of the Ziarat valley. some of the trees in Junipers forests had been sowed as long as 5000 years ago, making Ziarat as the second biggest Junipers valley in the world.
The word Ziarat means a 'shrine' (grave of a holy man). A folklore tells a saint, Kharwari Baba, who is believed to have stayed in the valley and blessed it. He was a member of Sarangzai tribe and his original name was Mulla Tahir. Later he became a disciple of Nana Sahib. A number of miracles are attributed to Khurwari Baba. The shrine of Khurwari Baba, after which Ziarat was named, is located 8 km away from Ziarat and is visited by a large number of people to pay attribute to the divine soul.
Ziarat takes pride in hosting Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan on a number of occasions. He also spent the last days of his life in a government residency there.
This monumental residency was built in 1882 by the British government and till independence was in the use of the agents of the British governor general for India as their summer headquarters.
The residency is embellished with beautiful lawns, covered with grassy carpets and with roses, dancing at the rhythmic tunes of wind, all around the garden. From there one can have a striking view of the picturesque valley.
Harappa (Sahiwal)
This was the first of the Indus Valley Civilization sites to be discovered, but in size and condition it is inferior toHarappa Moenjodaro. Located 186 km south-west of Lahore, Harappa is reached via the station at Sahiwal, formerly known as Montgomery. Situated beside an earlier course of the Ravi River, Harappa was discovered in 1920/21, but through the ages the site was quarried for bricks and most of the buildings so far excavated are in poor condition. Like Moenjodaro the excavations have revealed a series of cities, stacked one upon another. The site, with its citadel and great granary, seems similar in many ways to Moenjodaro and like its southern sister-city appear to have thrived around 2000 to 1700 BC with an economy based largely on agriculture and trade. The Harappan society seems to have been egalitarian, pursuing a rather simple way of life.
The cemeteries discovered at Harappa confirm that the Indus Valley people buried their bead, many of them wearing finger rings, necklaces of steatite beads, anklets of paste bead, earnings and shell bangles. Copper mirrors, antimony rods, sheer spoons and vessels and urns of various shapes and size lay in the graves. Some of the female skeletons had anklets of tiny beads and girdles studded with some-precious stones.
Excavations have recalled evidence of some pre-Harappa material which shows strong affinity with the Kot Diji finds.
On display at the Museum are excavated material, including terracotta toys, gamesman, jewellery, animal figurines, bronze utensils statuettes etc.
Uch sharif (bahawalpur)
Uch Sharif, 75 km from Bahawalpur is a very old town. It is believed that it existed 500 BC. Some historians believe that Uch was there even before the advent of Bikramajit when Jains and Buddhist ruled over the sub-continent. At the time of the invasion by Alexander the Great, Uch was under Hindu rule.
Certain historians say that Alexander came to Uch after conquering northern parts of India and spent over a fortnight in they city and renamed it Alexandria. Some have mentioned Uch by the name of Sikandara or Iskalanda.
They have described it as the most flourishing and beautiful town perched upon the plateau near the confluence of the Chenab and Ravi rivers.
They have described it as the most flourishing and beautiful town perched upon the plateau near the confluence of the Chenab and Ravi rivers. the famous shrines existing at Uch include those of Hazrat Bahawal Haleem, Hazrat Jalaluddin Surkh Bukhari, Makhdoom Jahanian Jahangasht, Shaikh Saifuddin Ghazrooni and Bibi Jawanadi. The shrine of Bibi Jawandi is a central asian design, titled in the blue and white faience.
Uch is a small town today and divided into three different quarters known as (i) Uch Bukhari, after Hazrat Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari Surkhposh, (ii) Uch Jilani, after the name of Hazrat Shaikh Mohammad Ghaus Qadri Jilani (Bandagi), who came from Halab in 887 AH, (iii) Uch Mughlan after the Mughal rulers.
Clock tower (Faisalabad)
The Faisalabad Clock Tower is a clock tower in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan, and is one of the oldest monuments still standing in its original state from the period of the British Raj. It was built by the British, when they ruled much of the South Asia during the nineteenth century.
The majestic Clock Tower of Faisalabad was constructed out of the funds raised by the local Zamindars who collected it at a rate of Rs. 18 per square of land. The fund thus raised was handed over to the Municipal Committee which undertook to complete the project.
The locals refer to it as "Ghanta Ghar" in Urdu which translates into Hour House in English. It is located in the older part of the city. The clock is placed at the center of the eight markets that from a bird's-eye view look like the Union Jack flag of the United Kingdom. This special layout still exists today and can be viewed using the latest software from Google Maps.
During festivals of Eid and Independence Day the mayor (nazim) of Faisalabad delivers a speech at this site and hangs the flag at full mast.
Nanga perbat (northern area)
The Himalayas are a great mountain range formed by the collision of Indo-Pakistan tectonic plate with the AsianNanga Parbat - Pakistan Continent.The central Himalayan mountains are situated in Nepal, while the eastern mountains extend to the borders of Bhutan and Sikkim. Nanga Parbat massif is the western corner pillar of the Himalayas. It is an isolated range of peaks just springing up from nothing, and is surrounded by the rivers Indus and Astore. Nanga Parbat or "Nanga Parvata" means the naked mountain. Its original and appropriate name, however, is Diamir the king of mountains.
Nanga Parbat (main peak) has a height of 8,126m/26,660 ft. It has three vast faces. The Rakhiot (Ra Kot) faceNanga Parbat - Pakistan is dominated by the north and south silver crags and silver plateau; the Diamir face is rocky in the beginning. It converts itself into ice fields around Nanga Parbat peak. The Rupal face is the highest precipice in the world. Reinhold Messner, a living legend in mountaineering from Italy, says that "every one who has ever stood at the foot of this face (4,500m/14,764ft) up above the 'Tap Alpe', studied it or flown over it, could not help the amazement of its sheer size; it has become known as the highest rock and ice wall in the world!". Nanga Parbat has always been associated with tragedies and tribulations until it was climbed in 1953. A lot of mountaineers have perished on Nanga Parbat since 1895. Even today it is claiming a heavy toll of human lives, mountaineers in search of adventure and thrill, and in finding new and absolutely un-climbed routes are becoming its victims.
It was in 1841 that a huge rock-slide from the Nanga Parbat dammed the Indus river. This created a huge lake,Nanga Parbat - Pakistan 55 km long,like the present Tarbela lake down-stream. The flood water that was released when the dam broke caused a rise of 80 ft in the river's 3 level at Attock and swept away an entire Sikh army. It was also in the middle of the nineteenth century that similar catastrophes were later caused by the damming of Hunza and Shyok rivers.
The Nanga Parbat peak was discovered in the nineteenth century by Europeans. The Schlagintweit brothers, who hailed from Munich (Germany) came in 1854 to Himalayas and drew a panoramic view which is the first known picture of Nanga Parbat. In 1857 one of them was murdered in Kashgar. The curse of Nanga Parbat had begun!
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