The Bagh Ibne Qasim (clifton.karachi)

The Bagh Ibne Qasim (Urdu: باغ ابنِ قاسم‎ ) is located in Clifton,Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Inaugurated by President Pervez Musharraf on February 27, 2007, Pakistan's biggest park constructed under Clifton Beach Development Project on 130 acres (0.53 km²) of land. The old Toyland Theme Parkhas been done away with and this park replaces it. The park cost PKR 600 million and has been completed in 300 working days. More than 10 million people visited the park per year. Is also the largest family park in South Asia.

Prior to the initiation of construction on Bagh-e-Ibne Qasim, 73 acres (300,000 m²) of land was freed from the grip of land grabbers. The entire Clifton beach, and the area now covered under the park. In June 2005, Sindh Governor Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan took it upon himself to restore this major historical entertainment area to its original splendor. City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal also played a part in gifting the Jehangir Kothari Parade back to the people of Karachi.

For entertainment purposes of visitors, the park has a turtle pond, in addition to which it also has 24 state-of-the-art washrooms. In order to create an element of originality, the park also has 20 stone canopies. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of unique rose saplings have been planted throughout the park. The park will also feature fast food outlets able to accommodate 500 persons at a time. This park has various murals of dinosaurs that are extremely huge and add to the excitement on the faces of the visitors that come from various parts of Pakistan. This park overlooks the 90 meter fountain of kpt and thus adds to the beauty of the Clifton area.

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Tomb of Allama Muhammad Iqbal

The Tomb of Allama Muhammad Iqbal is a simple but impressive structure located in Lahore, Pakistanin the Hazuri Bagh lawn between the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort where both the grand structures (the Mosque and the Fort) face each other.^[1] Official guard is maintained by Pakistan Rangers. The architecture reflects a combination of Afghan and Moorish styles and is entirely constructed of red sandstone.^[2] Hundreds of visitors come to the mausoleum every day to pay their respects to thepoet-philosopher.^[3]

He was one of the major inspirations behind thePakistan Movement, and is revered in Pakistan asMuffakir-e-Pakistan (The Thinker of Pakistan) orShair-e-Mashriq (The Poet of the East).^[4] Iqbal died on April 21, 1938 in Lahore at the age of 60. Since theindependence of Pakistan, an academy named after him (Iqbal Academy) has been established to promote and disseminate his poetical and philosophical messages and teachings. As another tribute, the recently renovated Lahore airport has also been named after him as Allama Iqbal International Airport

Structure

The rectangular structure of the mausoleum has two gates at the eastern and southern side respectively, inlaid with marble. The grave is built of white marble. The tombstone is made of lapis lazuli and inscribed with Quranic verses in calligraphy. The tombstone was a gift from the people ofAfghanistan. On the inside walls, six couplets of a ghazal are carved from Iqbal's peotical work Zabur-e-Ajam (Persian Psalms).^[5] Outside, there is a small garden, distributed into small plots. The mausoleum was designed by Hyderabad Deccan’s then Chief Architect, Nawab Zain Yar Jang Bahadur and took thirteen years to build at a cost of about one hundred thousand (Rs.100,000)Pakistani rupees. The major reason for delay was the stoppage of red-stone from Jaipur in post-independence India.^[6]

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The Faisal Mosque (Islamabad)

The Faisal Mosque in Islamabad is the largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and the sixth largest mosque in the world. It was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 to 1993 when overtaken in size by the completion of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. Subsequent expansions of the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca and the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina, Saudi Arabia during the 1990s relegated Faisal Mosque to fourth place in terms of size.

Faisal Mosque is conceived as the National Mosqueof Pakistan. It has a covered area of 5,000 m²(54,000 sq ft)^{[citation needed]} and has a capacity to accommodate approximately 300,000 worshippers (100,000 in its main prayer hall, courtyard and porticoes and another 200,000 in its adjoining grounds). Although its covered main prayer hall is smaller than that of the Hassan II Mosque inCasablanca (the world's third largest mosque), Faisal Mosque has the third largest capacity of accommodating worshippers in its adjoining grounds after the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca, the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina.^[1]. Each of the Mosque's four minarets are 80 m (260 ft) high (the tallest minarets in South Asia) and measure 10 x 10 m in circumference.

The Faisal Mosque is named after the late King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, who supported and financed the project.

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Jinnah Garden Lahore

Jinnah Garden Lahore that is situated on 141 acres (0.57 km²) at this time, earlier it was in 176 acres (0.71 km²), but the land was given to Lahore zoo, botanical garden govt. college university Lahore and to roads alongside the garden. Now it is almost the plant area except roads building is 121 acres (0.49 km²). It is most beautiful and well managed botanical garden in Pakistan.

It has almost 150 varieties of trees, 140 types of shrubs, 50 types of creepers, 30 palms, almost 100 succulent and about same indoor along with almost all varieties of annual flowers. The garden has a good name in Chrysanthemum shows, it was the first institute that started growing chrysanthemum and maximum no of varieties for it. It has 3 nurseries, 4 hilloaks in it.

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Minar-e-Pakistan (Lahore)

Minar-e-Pakistan is a tall minaret in Iqbal Park Lahore, built in commemoration of the Pakistan Resolution. The minaret reflects a blend of Mughal and modernarchitecture, and is constructed on the site where on March 23, 1940, seven years before the formation ofPakistan, the Muslim League passed the Pakistan Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan), demanding the creation of Pakistan.^[1] This was the first official declaration to establish a separate homeland for theMuslims living in the South Asia.^[2] Pakistan now celebrates this day as a national holiday each year.

The monument attracts visitors from all over Pakistan, as well as the inhabitants of the Walled City of Lahore. The large public space around the monument is commonly used for political and public meetings, whereas Iqbal Park area is popular among kite-flyers

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Port Muhammad Bin Qasim

The Port Muhammad Bin Qasim (Urdu: بندر گاہ محمد بن قاسم), also known as Port Qasim, is a seaport inKarachi, Pakistan on the coastline of the Arabian Sea. It is Pakistan's second busiest port, handling about 35% of the nation's cargo (17 million tons per annum). Port Qasim and Karachi Port, the busiest port of country, together handle more than 90% of all external trade of Pakistan.

The port encompasses a total area of 12,000 acres wherein many industrial zones operate. In addition to thePakistan Steel Mills (PSM) and KESC Bin Qasim Power Plant, around 80% of the Pakistan's automotive industry is located at Port Qasim. The port also provides direct waterfront access to two major nearby industrial areas, Export Processing Zone (Landhi) and Korangi Industrial Area. Approximately 60% of country's export and import is originated from these areas. Port Qasim is managed by Port Qasim Authority, a semi-autonomous government body.

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Jinnah International Airport

Jinnah International Airport (IATA: KHI, ICAO:OPKC) (previously Quaid-e-Azam International Airport قاۂد اعظم بین الاقوامی ہواگاہ) is Pakistan's largestinternational and domestic airport. It is located inKarachi, Sindh, and its passenger terminal is also commonly known as the جناح ٹرمینل Jinnah Terminal. The airport is named after Crown attorney/statesmanMuhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and its first Governor General, who was popularly known as the Quaid-e-Azam ("Great Leader").

The airport provides primary hub for the flag carrier,Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Shaheen Air International, and Airblue as well as many other private airlines. The airport is equipped with aircraft engineering and overhauling facilities including the Ispahani Hangarfor wide-body aircraft.

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Historical building of Multan

The Multan Fort, a Pakistani military installation, was a landmark of Indian defence and architecture. It was built near the city of Multan, in Punjab province, on a hillock separated from the city by the Ravi River. The fort was destroyed by British forces during the British occupation of India.

The fort was notable both for its effectiveness as a defence installation and for its architecture. Contemporary reports put the walls of the fort at 40 to 70 feet (21 m) high and 6,800 feet (2 km) in circumference. The fort's 46 bastions included two flanking towers at each of the four gates (the De, Sikki, Hareri and Khizri Gates). A ditch 25 feet (7.6 m) deep and 40 feet (12 m) wide and an 18-foot (5.5 m) glacis protected the fort from intruders.

Within the fort stood a citadel flanked by 30 towers, enclosing mosques, a Hindu temple and a Khan's palace. The citadel was severely damaged by the battering it got from the guns of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1818.

The Fort was originally known as Katochgarh and is attributed to have been built by the Katoch Dynasty.^{[citation needed]}

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Tourism in Pakistan

Tourism in Pakistan has been stated as being the tourism industry's next big thing^[1]. Pakistan with it's diverse cultures, people and landscapes has attracted 0.7 million tourists to the country. Almost double to that of a decade ago.^[2].

The country's attraction range from the ruin of civilization such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill stations, which attract those interested in winter sports. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over 7000m, which attracts adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially K2^[3]. The north part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, ancient architecture and the Hunza and Chitral valley, home to small pre-Islamic Animist Kalasha community claiming descent from Alexander the Great. The romances of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is timeless and legend. Punjab province has the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River and the historic city Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital, with many examples of Mughal architecture such as Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort. Before the Global economic crisis Pakistan received more than 500,000 tourists annually.^[4]

In October 2006, just one year after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, The Guardian released what it described as "The top five tourist sites in Pakistan" in order to help the country's tourism industry.^[5] The five sites included Taxila, Lahore, The Karakoram Highway, Karimabad and Lake Saiful Muluk. To promote Pakistan's unique and various cultural heritage, the Prime Minister launched the "Visit Pakistan" marketing campaign in 2007. ^[6] This campaign involved various events throughout the year including fairs and religious festivals, regional sporting events, various arts and craft shows, folk festivals and several openings of historical museums.^[7]

In 2009, The World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan as one of the top 25% tourist destinations for its World Heritage sites. Ranging from mangroves in the South, to the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization which included Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.^[8]

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