PUNJAB NORTH (Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad) Dec 21-28, 2021
The most populous and agriculturally fertile region in the country and home to many historical shrines and mosques
Lahore – City of the Mughals, bustling and a very historical city that shouldn’t be missed.
Faisalabad – A major city in Punjab, famous for its textile industry
Sialkot – The city of sports goods, famous for its exports industry, one of the oldest cities in the region.
TAXILA
We stayed at the Roylston Hotel, easily the most expensive hotel of the whole trip (9000 PR) and the worst – no wifi, no hot water for a shower, a dirty bathroom, a poor breakfast served in the room, no elevator. But it appeared to be the only hotel in the city.
Bhir Mound is the earliest historic city of Taxila and was probably founded in the 6th century BC by the Achaemenians. Its stone walls, house foundations, and winding streets represent the earliest forms of urbanization on the subcontinent. Bihr is also associated with Alexander the Great’s triumphant entry into Taxila in 326 BC.
Today all that is visible is a 5 m high long grassy mound with no signs, office or anything. There are many artifacts in the Taxila Museum from Bhir. Free
Sirsukh. I could find nothing here after walking all around in the area marked by Google Maps.
Taxila Museum. This very good archaeological museum has artifacts from the WHS of Taxila, mostly from Sirkap, Bhir, and various Buddhist monasteries in the area. Most of the pieces were either Buddhist or of Greek origin with literally hundreds of Buddha images in stone, limestone, or stucco. I was given a guided tour. 500 PR
TAXILA World Heritage Site. From the ancient Neolithic tumulus of Saraikala to the ramparts of Sirkap (2nd century B.C.) and the city of Sirsukh (1st century A.D.), Taxila illustrates the different stages in the development of a city on the Indus that was alternately influenced by Persia, Greece and Central Asia and which, from the 5th century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D., was an important Buddhist centre of learning.
Taxila, located in the Rawalpindi district of Pakistan’s Punjab province, is a vast serial site that includes a Mesolithic cave and the archaeological remains of four early settlement sites, Buddhist monasteries, and a Muslim mosque and madrassa. Situated strategically on a branch of the Silk Road that linked China to the West, Taxila reached its apogee between the 1st and 5th centuries. It is now one of the most important archaeological sites in Asia.
The prehistoric mound of Saraikala represents the earliest settlement of Taxila, with evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age occupation.
Sirkap was a fortified city founded during the mid-2nd century BC. The many private houses, stupas, and temples were laid out on the Hellenistic grid system and show the strong Western classical influence on local architecture. The city was destroyed in the 1st century by the Kushans, a Central Asian tribe. Part of the 500 PR fee.
All that remains is a large site of low foundation walls and the remains of a stupa.
Dharmirajika is the third major part of the WHS. It consists of the remains of huge stupa, 74 other stupas, a lying Buddha, and the feet of a standing Buddha.
500 PR covers three archaeological sites.
RAWALPINDI. Commonly known as Pindi, is the fourth-largest city in Pakistan. Rawalpindi is adjacent to Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad, and the two are jointly known as the “twin cities” on account of strong social and economic links between the cities.
Rawalpindi is located on the Pothohar Plateau, known for its ancient Buddhist heritage, especially in the neighbouring town of Taxila – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. ]
In 1765, it came under Sikh rule and eventually became a major city within the Sikh Empire based in Lahore. The city was conquered by the British Raj in 1849, and in 1851 became the largest garrison town of the British Indian Army. Following the partition of British India in 1947, the city became home to the headquarters of the Pakistan Army hence retaining its status as a major military city.
The construction of Pakistan’s new purpose-built national capital city of Islamabad in 1961 led to greater investment in the city. Modern Rawalpindi is socially and economically intertwined with Islamabad. The city is also home to numerous suburban housing developments that serve as bedroom communities for workers in Islamabad. As home to GHQ of Pakistan Army & Benazir Bhutto International Airport, and with connections to the M-1 and M-2 motorways, Rawalpindi is a major logistics and transportation centre for northern Pakistan. The city is also home to historic havelis and temples and serves as a hub for tourists visiting Rohtas Fort, Azad Kashmir, Taxila, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Pakistan Army Museum. After endless bureaucracy, I finally gained entry – lots of weapons. I went to the gate signed where there were 7 army personnel. After 10 minutes and a few phone calls, we were directed to the gate on the opposite side. When I went to purchase the ticket after talking to one of the 6 people there, the ticket seller said that the museum was closed because of Covid!!! What do all these people do all day? 50 PR
Rawalpindi Station. In a lovely old, yellow stone building, the lobby was virtually empty, reflecting the fact that few Pakistanis travel by train, much more often by bus. The passenger cars were relics from the past.
Driving through this part of Pindi was a bedlam of people walking on the street (because the sidewalks are blocked), motorcycles, rickshaws, and people pushing large carts full of merchandise. Being ahead gives one the right of way, so aggression (which Sadik doesn’t have) counts.
Raja Bazaar. This market is a warren of tiny lanes inside one huge market like the rest of Pakistan. It is hard to know where the “market” ends and starts.
Lal Haveli. is a famous Haveli (residence) as well as the political centre for the Pakistani politician Sheikh Rashid Ahmad. It is located in the central part of old Rawalpindi near the Raja Bazaar.
The haveli was built by Dhan Raj Sehgal who left for India leaving the Haveli to his mistress Budhan Bai and thence it is said to have been the abode of that woman before the independence of Pakistan. Saigol had a Masjid and a Temple built within the confines of his Haveli, a masjid for the woman and a temple for himself. The woman left the place for good when her brother was murdered here.
Sheikh Rasheed used to be a bookseller in this area at the time, his place of business being just a few meters from the front entrance. It is said that his infatuation with the grand building and its owner led him to buy the building later on in his life when he had the means to do so.
It is now the residence of the Interior Minister of Pakistan and can’t be visited.
Gulshan Dadan Khan Mosque. Thankfully this was on the border of Islamabad and the traffic moved on the way there, well sort of. This older mosque has two white minarets with blue stripes. The courtyard is a small semi-circle with a surrounding balcony. The prayer hall is small but with a massive white marble mihrab and luxurious green carpet.
Islamabad Capital Area Dec 22-23, 2021
ISLAMABAD The capital city of Pakistan, the ninth-largest city in Pakistan, and the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area is the country’s fourth-largest with a population of about 3.1 million. Built as a planned city in the 1960s to replace Karachi as Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad is noted for its high standards of living, safety, and abundant greenery.
Eight zones, including administrative, diplomatic enclave, residential areas, educational sectors, industrial sectors, commercial areas, and rural and green areas (several parks and forests, including the Margalla Hills National Park and the Shakarparian.)
The city has the highest cost of living in Pakistan, and its population is dominated by middle and upper-middle-class citizens. The city is home to twenty universities. The city is one of the safest in Pakistan, and has an expansive RFID-enabled surveillance system with almost 2000 CCTV cameras.
Islamabad is a marked distinction from the rest of Pakistan: wide streets separated by boulevards planted with flowers and bushes, many parks, palatial houses and no traffic. It could not be more different than its twin city, Rawalpindi, which is more chaotic than usual.
The following four sites are in a huge natural park in the SW of Islamabad.
The many street lights must drive the locals crazy as each side moves individually, making them very slow often with no traffic moving.
Golra Sharif Railway Museum. In a bucolic setting, this no longer active station was built in 1871. Cross 4 railway tracks to the platform lined with huge trees and benches. The museum is in the old stone station and consists of a small gallery of miscellaneous artifacts, a salon of benches and a table and an old locomotive at the head of a bunch of cars. 400 PR
ASG Zoo. Islamabad Zoo. In the ASG College grounds, this is a well-organized zoo. 100 PR
Pakistan Museum of Natural History. A blue whale skeleton is on the outside. Inside are rather dated exhibits: stuffed animals (many tortoise), and upstairs, dioramas with stuffed animals and birds and a large rock collection. 100 PR
Lok Virsa Heritage Museum. This ethnography museum shows Pakistani tradition, folklore, homes, their contents, and agriculture in a very well-designed space. 800 PR
Pakistan Monument. In the NW corner of the park, this is a giant half dome composed of several “leaves”. Four marble columns sit beside them. 250 PR
Rose and Jasmine Garden. This a large grassed area with mature trees, a small rose garden (still with blooms), playgrounds, benches and a flower garden with nothing in flower. Free
Sir Syed Memorial Museum. Has Stone Age, Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic period artifacts: gem-studded swords, miniature paintings on paper and on ivory and of course pots. It has a large hall for meetings. 100 PR
Supreme Court of Pakistan. Modern Architecture Buildings. Designed by the renowned Japanese architect, Kenzo Tange, in a modernist style complimenting the Parliament Building.
The Court complex judges’ chambers, a separate building consisting of the law library, various meeting spaces, and auxiliary services including a lecture auditorium. There is an Elizabethan-styled Entrance Hall, cafeteria, conference rooms, and a vintage dining hall, that resembles the Victorian era. The Supreme Court Library contains a collection of 72,000 law books, reports, and journals and is situated in the basement.
The public cannot enter the grounds and can only see the building from the road.
Aiwan-e-Sadr (Presidential Palace) is the official residence and workplace of the President of Pakistan. The first President who lived there was Ghulam Ishaq Khan, in 1988. Aiwan-e-Sadr is located in northeastern Islamabad on Constitution Avenue between the Parliament Building and the Cabinet block of the Pakistan Secretariat. Residences for the Presidential staff are also located behind the Presidency, known as the President’s Colony adjacent to 4th Avenue.
This is not open to the public.
National Art Gallery. In a large brick building, only half is devoted to galleries on two floors. One gallery is devoted to Quaid, photographs, and 4 portraits. Much of modern which I don’t like much. One gallery is of miniatures. I liked two portraits by Saeed Akhtar who also did one of the Quaid portraits. Free (I arrived late and he didn’t charge me)
Faisal Mosque. The largest mosque in South Asia and the fifth largest in the world. With four towering minarets, it is visible from all over. The huge marble plaza has a sunken fountain. Inside it is a huge square, with a one-piece red carpet and a mihrab consisting of a marble column between an open Koran.
It is the sixth-largest mosque in the world and the largest within South Asia, located on the foothills of Margalla Hills in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad. The mosque features a contemporary design consisting of eight sides of the concrete shell and is inspired by the design of a typical Bedouin tent, a contemporary and influential piece of Islamic architecture.
Construction of the mosque began in 1976 after a $28 million grant from Saudi King Faisal, whose name the mosque bears. The unconventional design by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay was selected after an international competition.[5][2] Without a typical dome, the mosque is shaped like a Bedouin tent, surrounded by four 260 feet (79 m) tall minarets. The design features eight-sided shell-shaped sloping roofs forming a triangular worship hall that can hold 10,000 worshippers.
Combined with the structure covering an area of 33 acres (130,000 m2; 1,400,000 sq ft), the mosque dominates the landscape of Islamabad. It is situated at the north end of Faisal Avenue, putting it at the northernmost end of the city and at the foot of Margalla Hills, the westernmost foothills of the Himalayas. It is located on an elevated area of land against a picturesque backdrop of the national park. Faisal Mosque was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 until 1993 when it was overtaken by the mosques in Saudi Arabia. Faisal Mosque is now the sixth largest mosque in the world in terms of capacity.
The Centaurus. Modern Architecture Buildings. Is a 36-floor hotel, three 23-floor residential and office towers, and a five-story shopping mall with more than 300 shops.
Play area for children and “The Centaurus Cinema, and the food court all on the 4th floor.
Entry Fee controversy. In what it called a move to avoid ‘over-crowding’, Centaurus Mall in a public notice said visitors will have to buy a coupon to enter the mall, which is adjustable against shopping at the mall on the same day. The public notice listed 23 types of people who will not have to purchase the entry coupons. Those exempted include all women and children under 12, senior citizens, lawmakers and executives, diplomats and foreigners, journalists, and lawyers, members of country clubs, registered engineers, doctors, and teachers. Further, the notice said, “famous players of hockey, cricket, football and golf” and “celebrities” do not have to purchase the entry coupon.
One side of all three skyscrapers has a COCA-COLA sign extending its entire length and the entire front of the first skyscraper is covered in a PEPSI-COLA sign.
Day 8
We slept in Islamabad. The hotel was as cheap as I could find, about 1/3 of what I paid in Taxila, and better as we had wifi. We were off by 7:30 for the almost 2-hour drive to Rohtas Fort, WHS #703. After some initial traffic congestion, the road was fast.
After seeing the fort, I was finally able to exchange money in Dina at a Moneygram. One of the odd things about Pakistan (and one I didn’t realize or is advertised) is that this is a total cash country – ATMs and credit cards don’t work. Exchange rates are favourable and correlate well with the rates on xe.com.
ROHTAS FORT. World Heritage Site. Rohtas Fort, also called Qila Rohtas, is a strategic site in the north of Pakistan and an exceptional example of early Muslim military architecture in Central and South Asia. Rohtas Fort is unique: there are no surviving examples on the subcontinent of military architecture of this period on the same scale and with the same degree of completeness and preservation.
Sher Shah Suri, the celebrated Afghan military leader who established the Sur Empire in India by dethroning the Mughal emperor Humayun in 1541, built a strong fortified complex at Rohtas, a strategic site on the crossroads of the Punjab plains, Himalayan foothills, and Potochar Plateau. It is on the main route of the famous Grand Trunk Road connecting Bengal on the east with the Peshawar Valley in the west and is ideally suited to control the movement of armies, people, and goods through the narrow path in the Salt Range.
Suri had a great passion for building forts, mosques, roads, and inns and many of his extensive public works laid the physical boundaries for the later Mughal empire.
It is perched on jagged cliffs over a verdant valley. Engineered to withstand gunpowder warfare which had arrived in India with Babur and his Turkish cannons it is perched on jagged rock faces protected by deep ravines on all sides. It could hold 30,000 troops. With walls as high as 20 and 12m thick, it was never taken by storm and has survived intact to the present day. The main 70-hectare fortifications consist of more than four kilometres of massive masonry walls, lined with 68 bastions and pierced at strategic points by 12 monumental gateways.
It follows the contours of its hilltop site. An interior wall partitions the inner citadel from the remainder of the fort, and an internal water supply in the form of baolis (stepped wells) gave the fort’s garrison self-sufficiency in water. A beautiful mosque known as Shahi Masjid is situated near the Kabuli Gate, and the Haveli (Palatial House) Man Singh was constructed later in the Mughal period. Based essentially on Turkish military architecture developed in reaction to the introduction of gunpowder and cannon, it also transformed into a distinct style of its own.
Sophistication and high artistic value of its decorative elements, notably its high- and low-relief carvings, its calligraphic inscriptions in marble and sandstone, its plaster decoration, and its glazed tiles.
The garrison complex was in continuous use until 1707 and then reoccupied under the Durrani and Sikh rulers of the 18th and 19th centuries respectively. A village grew within the walls and exists day.
This fort is truly impressive. From some good viewpoints on walking around the fort, the walls extend “all over the place”. Most structures other than the walls have little standing. The exception is the Haveli of Raja Man Singh (Mughal Emperor Akbar’s general) with two domes on top of each other, but even it is a vestige of what was once here. 500 PR
The drive west to the next sites was on “dream roads”, a 4-lane divided highway with virtually no traffic, not even congested towns.
Katas Raj Temples, Chatwal. These are 4 Hindu temples including a new active temple above a sacred lake.
Legend has it that, after the death of his wife Sati, Lord Shiva cried so inconsolably that his tears formed a pond that came to be known as the Katas Raj pond. Around this pond, temples were built dedicated to the Hindu deities Shiva, Ram, and Hunaman. Situated in Punjab’s Salt Range near Kallar Kahar (at an altitude of 2,000 feet), the Katas Raj Temple complex is considered the second-most sacred shrine in Hinduism. The pond from the Hindu legend occupies an area of two canals and 15 marlas, with a maximum depth of 20 feet.
The seven temples at Katas — believed to have been built around 650 and 950 AD — are connected by walkways. The name of the temple complex is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘kataksha’ which means ‘tearful eyes’ and every spring and autumn, Hindu pilgrims from Pakistan and India visit the pond to bathe in it and ‘wash off their sins’.
The 19 km drive to the salt mines traversed very rugged terrain, basically along a ridge between two deep canyons – and on easily the worst road driven so far in Pakistan. It took an hour.
The Salt Range and Khewra Salt Mine Tentative WHS (12/04/2016). Rising abruptly from the Punjab plains west of the River Jhelum and ending equally precipitously on the Indus River, one hundred and eighty kilometres in the west, the Salt Range is a long linear formation of sheer escarpments, jagged peaks, rolling hills, and desolate ravines. Nestling between these hills are fertile valleys scattered with lakes and irrigated by spring-fed streams. The Salt Range originated 800 million years ago when the evaporation of a shallow sea followed by the underthrusting of the Indian Plate formed a range that stretched for about 300 kilometres. The range derives its name from the occurrence of the thickest seams of rock salt in the world embedded in the Precambrian bright red marls of the Salt Range Formation. The Salt Range constitutes a narrow zone of localized strong folding, faulting, and uplift, in contrast to the open folds of low structural relief in the Potwar Plateau and no deformation at all in the immediately adjacent Punjab Plain.
It represents an open book of geology with richly fossiliferous stratified rocks, all excellently exposed due to lack of vegetation. The exposure shows tectonic features and a diverse range of floral and faunal fossils including well-preserved complete body fossils of invertebrate and vertebrate fauna, their skeletal grains, faunal moulds, and castes along with a large variety of ichnofossils.
Hominidae remains have been found. Hundreds of edged pebble tools were discovered dated to 500,000 – 125,000 bp).
Historical sites date from the 4th c. when Alexander the Great fought his last battle with Raja Porus at the bank of Jehlum River, through the Hindu Shahi period, the Mughal Empire to the era of Sikh rule and the British Colonial occupation. Fortresses, monasteries, and temple complexes such as Kafirkot and Malot (9th – 19th c.), Nandna, Tilla Jogian, and the World Heritage site of Rohtas perch on high mountain platforms overlooking important passes through the Salt Range.
Habitation sites and ancient centers of religious pilgrimage such as Katas Raj and Mari Indus, early Mughal sites such as Takht-e-Babri, the throne of Emperor Babar and his Bagh-e-Safa considered to be the first Mughal Garden in Asia, are found in Kallar Kahar in the middle of the Salt Range.
Step wells, stone-lined tanks, sacred ponds and banyans (Ficus indica), and groves spanning many periods are scattered across the landscape.
Khanpur cave, which has produced stratified microlithic tools of the Mesolithic period, and some Buddhist monasteries and stupas of various periods. Buddhist monuments erected throughout the Taxila valley transformed it into a religious heartland and a destination for pilgrims from as far afield as Central Asia and China. The Buddhist archaeological sites at Taxila include the Dharmarajika complex and stupa, the Khader Mohra grouping, the Kalawan grouping, the Giri monasteries, the Kunala stupa and monastery, the Jandial complex, the Lalchack, and the Badalpur stupa remains and monasteries, the Mohra Moradu monastic remains, the Pipplian and the Jaulian remains, and the Bahalar stupa and remains. The Giri complex also includes the remains of a three-domed Muslim mosque, ziarat (tomb), and madrassa (school) of the medieval period.
Khewra Salt Mines, Located near Kallar Kahar about 160 kilometres from Islamabad and 260 kilometres from Lahore are the world’s second-largest salt mine. A tourist train runs inside the mine tunnels and passes through some incredible sculptures & structures made up of salt. There is also a twelve-bed therapy centre inside the mine called the Khewra Asthma Clinic, which has the reputation of having healing powers owing to the health benefits of its micro-climate. Shops inside the mine sell crafted lamps, sculptures and ornaments made up of salt.
The fee for a foreigner to visit the mine is a whopping US$20 (~3600 PR) with no senior discount (400 PR for Pakistan residents, 200 if over 65) plus 200 to take the train to tour the mine.
Walk down to the mine shaft and then approximately .5 km along a narrow tunnel on a foot-beaten uneven dirt path beside the train track. The walls are reinforced with brick, stone or concrete pillars and there is nothing to see here. At a Y, follow the track to the right and pass several excavated galleries each with water (there is nothing of interest here either). At the end of the track, the route turns left to enter a U-shaped, pedestrian-only tunnel. Here there are 5 constructed “attractions”, all lame and made with bricks of salt backlit by lights: a mosque, an office, a tiny platform with a cannon, a tower, and a waterfall. None are interesting. Just before rejoining the track is the most interesting place with wonderful hard salt crystal walls and a few tunnels where the pink to red coloured crystal is very nice. The ground is very uneven foot-packed earth. Return back down the entrance tunnel.
I have been to two large salt mines in Europe and this one doesn’t remotely compare. Those have large open galleries, wonderful salt crystal sculptures, and bas reliefs carved into the walls. It is certainly not worth US$20, more like the $2.50 the locals pay. Certainly, avoid the train, a mickey mouse affair that avoids seeing the U-shaped walking part, the only thing worth seeing. The train is generally packed with Pakistanis. 3600 PR for foreigners.
We then drove directly towards Lahore. The initial 20 km was on a disastrous pot-holed mess of a road. Then it was approximately 120 k on a great 6-lane divided highway to Sheikhupura where we slept for a relatively early end to the day.
Day 9 Dec 24, 2021
SHEKHUPURA. The 16th largest city of Pakistan by population. The city is an industrial center, and satellite town, located about 38 km northwest of Lahore.
We stayed at what appeared to be the only hotel in the city, Best Holiday. It was impossible to find initially as Google Maps had the wrong side of the street and the sign is minimal. After asking for directions at least 3 times, the office is in the CNC restaurant in the basement of the building. The elevator is outside several shops. 5000 PR, an overcharge for the room as the wifi didn’t work well.
Hiran Minar and Tank, Sheikhupura Tentative WHS (14/12/1993). Constructed in brick, the minar (tower) constructed in 1607, is circular and tapers towards the top, which is flat, with a parapet wall. There are 210 square holes on the outer surface of the minar, arranged at regular intervals in ~ 14 rows. A spiral staircase consisting of 108 steps has been provided inside the minar. Alongside the staircase, there are 11 ascending rectangular arched openings provided for air and light. The minar is divided into six tiers of different heights. The base of each tier has projected molding and the lowest tier has an arched opening for an entrance. The entire exterior, as well as the interior of the minar, has lime plaster, apparently with some floral or lineal fresco paintings. The thick lime plaster applied over the surface of the lowest tier has been divided into decorative panels or arched niches and horizontal bands in high relief.
Facing the grand minar on the east side is a big tank constructed in 1627 with a causeway leading to the octagonal baradari (pavilion) built in the middle There is a square pavilion at each corner with a gateway to the baradari. The tank is rectangular in shape, 895’ by 792’, each side has a ramp and a parapet wall and is flanked by four staircases of 8 steps. During the Mughal days, a channel was cut from the Aik rivulet and connected with the tank at its northwest corner; in addition, an elaborate system for filling up the tank with rainwater from the catchment area was devised.
A causeway, standing on 21 pointed arched pillars, connects the main baradari with the gateway. In the centre of the tank has been erected an octagonal platform with a low parapet wall on all sides. Over the platform stands the beautiful baradari in the same plan, The baradari was constructed under the orders of Emperor Jahangir in 1620 A.D. for use as a royal residence.
I was surprised that this was open on a Friday morning. It is in a very peaceful place outside of the chaos of the city. The tank is truly huge and has paddleboats. Both gates to the causeway and the minar were locked. 500 PR
Sheikhpura Fort. This is a massive fort constructed of brick with high walls and many guard towers. The sign outside says it is closed and under restoration, but a kid arrived with a key. The walls are very intact but inside are piles of brick rubble. The fort was built in 1606 and is the only intact building inside a large 3-story building built for the wife of the builder. There is nothing to see inside and has little value. The kid demanded money initially suggesting 1000 PR as there were 4 people to pay. I finally relented and gave him 200 PR, and even that was an overpayment.
On my last day with Sadiq, I made a reservation at a hotel for 2 nights, and the plan was to see all the outlying sites around Lahore that needed a driver on the 24th.
This was to be another Christmas away from home in a foreign land. Of all the things we celebrate in Canada, Xmas is easily the one I miss most, as it is always family time. My wife celebrated with gusto and overindulged our children with endless gifts starting on Xmas eve, stockings full of stuff more than most kids got for an entire Christmas early in the morning, and then the “big stuff” under the tree. Christmas dinner was always a grand affair. We rarely had company and it was only our family.
In my travels, the only thing I find at all possible is to try to find a like-minded traveller to have Christmas dinner. That too has been rare and has only happened twice in 15 years.
One of my most memorable Christmas’ was in New Zealand. I had been picked up by a Maori man to drive me to the start of one of the Great Walks. We had cleaned up the property on the 21st filling a truck and then went to his brother-in-law’s who was the foreman at a sheep ranch. It was a memorable day watching the dogs herd sheep. We cut out 21 sheep in a hilarious hour without the dogs and butchered three for Xmas.
I did the walk on Dec 22-24, slept in my tent next to his house on the 24th, and then was included in their Christmas. He was the second husband of the woman who had 8 kids with #1, a child in diapers with #2 and was almost ready to pop #10. Xmas dinner was a “hangi” where a pit is dug and the sheep and vegetables are cooked using rocks covered with leaves and dirt.
LAHORE
Capital of Punjab and the country’s 2nd largest city, as well as the 26th largest city in the world. Lahore is one of Pakistan’s wealthiest cities and is one of Pakistan’s most socially liberal, progressive, and cosmopolitan cities.
Lahore reached its height under the Mughal Empire between the late 16th and early 18th centuries and served as its capital city for several years. The city was captured by the forces. Lahore eventually became the capital of the Sikh Empire in the early 19th century and regained some of its lost grandeur. Lahore was central to the independence movements of both India and Pakistan. Lahore experienced some of the worst rioting during the Partition period preceding Pakistan’s independence.
Lahore is a major center for Pakistan’s publishing industry and remains the foremost center of Pakistan’s literary scene. The city is also a major centre of education in Pakistan with some of Pakistan’s leading universities based in the city. Lahore is also home to Pakistan’s film industry, Lollywood, and is a major centre of Qawwali music. The city also hosts much of Pakistan’s tourist industry, with major attractions including the Walled City, the famous Badshahi and Wazir Khan mosques, as well as several Sikh and Sufi shrines.
Lahore has bad pollution – all the vehicles but mainly from all the brick kilns that belch a lot of smoke. You can hardly see the blue sky,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park. Urban Legend. This large urban family park has extensive areas of grass and moderately mature trees, playgrounds, and an amusement park. This is the first place I have had to show my vaccination card in all of Pakistan.
Jamis Masjid Noor-e-Mustafvi The large courtyard has 27 marble light posts. The small prayer room has an elaborately painted dome and a grand mihrab made of many kinds of tiles. I washed my feet here, one of the nice features of every mosque.
Emporium Mall. This large, modern 5-story mall in the far SW of Lahore has a Carrefour, Funfactory, cinemas and a good selection of all the brand-name stores I would imagine beyond the price point of most Pakistanis.
Grand Jamia Mosque Bahria Town. This monstrous brick mosque is round with minarets on each of the four corners. The exterior has coloured tile accenting the brick that is austere. Inside the front is a massive grey stone dome with 13 chandeliers and with two aisles each with small domes. The actual small prayer room most used is small with orange/brown tiles on the ceiling and a white marble/brown stone mihrab. Oddly it has a traditional wood staired minbar.
There is a huge grass courtyard.
Sacred Heart Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore, Built in the Roman Byzantine-style with Belgian aid and materials, the cathedral was consecrated in 1907. Its roots lie in the historical presence of the Belgian Capuchins in Pakistan.
On March 11, 2008, a suicide bomber drove a vehicle loaded with explosive material into the eight-story FIA office situated at Temple Road, Lahore. At least ten of the cathedral’s stained-glass windows were hit by the blast. In 2011, the Cathedral had registered more than 20,000 baptisms and nearly 5,500 marriages since its founding.
This is a grand church with two huge square bell towers, 3 naves, and cross-vaulted ceilings.
Arfa Karim Software Technology Park. In the NM Modern Architecture Buildings, this is a 17-story, 106 m high semi-circular glass skyscraper with an adjoining larger square building. Built in 2009, it is home to the Information Technology University and PITB. In 2012, the name was changed from Software Technology Park to Arfa Software Technology Park after the World’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional Arfa Karim, who died at the age of 16.
Shakir Ali Museum. Shakir Ali (1916-75) was a modernist artist originally from India who studied in England, Mumbai, France, and Prague. He went on to be the principal at Mayo Art College in Lahore. His spectacular house is outside like a castle in dark brown rough stone. Inside is only one bedroom, a salon, many photographs, and a large, 2-story gallery with his pieces (which I didn’t like much). A study accessed by a spiral stair overlooks the gallery. All his furniture was black wood. I was given a tour by a woman. He was married twice but had no children. Free
In the confusion of a very complicated interchange and trying to interpret Google Maps we went about 20m into a one-way and got a 2000 PR fine. Sadiq had to walk over to a police station to pay. The police were jerks.
Chughtai Museum. MA Rahman Chughatai (1897-1975) was originally from Lahore and studied in London. The gallery was in the process of changing the show and I was kindly let into a new exhibition of several black and white etchings. He was best known for his watercolors which were not exhibited. He was also an avid collector of art from all over the world. Free
FORT and SHALAMAR GARDENS in Lahore. World Heritage Site. These are two masterpieces from the Mughal civilization, a fusion of Islamic, Persian, Hindu, and Mongol sources (from whence the name Mughal derives) that dominated the Indian subcontinent for several centuries.
Two distinct royal complexes are 7 km from each other. They evolved during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Shalimar Gardens, constructed by Shah Jahan in 1641-2 is a Mughal garden, layering Persian influences over medieval Islamic garden traditions, and bearing witness to the apogee of Mughal artistic expression.
The Shalimar Gardens cover 16 hectares and are arranged in three terraces descending from the south to the north. Enclosed by a crenellated wall of red sandstone, the square upper and lower terraces are of equal size and divided into quadrants by a water channel with 106 and 153 fountains respectively. The narrower, intermediate terrace has 152 fountains around a central dancing platform with musician halls on each side. None of the fountains were active, unfortunately.
Tombs of Jahangir, Asif Khan and Akbari Sarai, Lahore. Tentative WHS (14/12/1993).
Jahangir’s tomb. A single-story, square structure, with a platform, tall octagonal corner towers, and a projecting entrance bay in the middle of each side. The exterior has a red sandstone facing with rich panel decoration inlaid with marble decorative motifs. The four corner towers, with white marble cupolas, rise in five stages to a height of 100 feet with a zigzag inlay of white and yellow marble: the building is divided into a series of vaulted compartments. The interior is embellished with floral frescoes, delicate inlay work (pietra dura), and brilliant marble intarsia of various colours. The marble cenotaph with its delicate and colourful Pietra dura is engraved with the ninety-nine attributes of Allah.
Asif Khan’s tomb. Octagonal with a high bulbous dome in the centre of a vast garden. The exterior was originally adorned with rich stone inlay work and the interior was decorated with very bold stucco tracery, tile mosaic, and ghalibkari. The high bulbous double dome was originally covered with marble veneering.
Akbari Sarai. Between the other two, the open courtyard by a raised terrace with rows of 180 small cells, two stately gateways of the usual Mughal style beautifully decorated with frescoes and ghalibkari.
Day 10 was Christmas day and a day off.
Day 11
This was a big sightseeing day in Lahore. I used a few tuk-tuks but probably walked about 15 km seeing all 15 NM sites on my list. I have finally learned that Uber is maybe cheaper than tuk-tuks but you also have drivers who know where they are going because they use Google Maps.
Lahore Zoo. This is a nice zoo with large enclosures. There are most of the iconic African animals, large aviaries, and a snake house.
Faletti’s Hotel, Hospitality Legend. It is an old historic hotel in Lahore, Pakistan, which was opened in 1880 during the British Raj by an Italian, Giovanni Faletti. It was closed in the late 1990s for privatization and re-opened in June 2013 after undergoing refurbishment. From its 1880 opening until the establishment of modern 5-star hotels in Pakistan in the 1970s, Faletti’s was considered to be the most prestigious hotel in Pakistan.
It has 38 residential executive rooms and suites, 4 banquet halls, 3 board rooms and 2 restaurants.
Faletti’s was built in the British colonial architecture style of the late 19th century. Its interior walls and floors are decorated with Burmese teak wood and its finely manicured lawns have centuries-old trees.
Cathedral Church of the Resurrection is an Anglican cathedral in the heart of Lahore built in 1887 in the Neo-Gothic style of architecture using pink sandstone.
A treasure of the cathedral is the ancient Saint Thomas Cross of Saint Thomas Christians excavated in 1935 near the site of the ancient city of Sirkap, although its antiquity is disputed. The structure is also well known for its stained glass windows, pipe organ, and clock that dates back to 1862.
I arrived for Boxing Day mass and 6 little kids sang Christmas carols.
Anarkali Bazaar. Bazaars in Pakistan are long rows of shops on a pedestrian street but they still have many motorcycles. Most shops are clothing.
Lahore Museum. Founded in 1865 at a smaller location and opened in 1894 at its current location during the British colonial period, the Lahore Museum is one of Pakistan’s most visited museums. The museum houses an extensive collection of Buddhist art from the ancient Indo-Greek and Gandhara kingdoms. It also has collections from the Mughal Empire, Sikh Empire, and the British Empire in India. The Fasting Buddha, dating from the Gandhara period, is one of the museum’s most prized and celebrated objects. The ceiling of the entrance hall features a large mural by Pakistani artist Sadequain who originally made the mural in 1972 and 1973.
The museum also contains fine specimens of Mughal and Sikh carved woodwork and has a large collection of paintings dating back to the British period. The collection also includes musical instruments, ancient jewelry, textiles, pottery, and armoury, as well as some Tibetan and Nepalese work on display. The museum displays archaeological materials from Bronze Age (Indus Valley Civilization) to the medieval era Hindu Shahi period. It has one of the largest collections of archaeology, history, arts, fine arts, applied arts, ethnology, and craft objects in Pakistan. There is also a photo gallery dedicated to the emergence of Pakistan as an independent state. 1000 PR for foreigners, 50 for locals
Fakir Khana is a private museum and house owned by the Fakir family. Fakhir Khana contains over 20,000 objects and is the largest privately-owned museum in South Asia.
The Fakir family settled in Lahore around 1730 and established a publishing house. The family opened their house as a museum open to the public in 1901, Some of the best objects are 180 miniature paintings, Sikh-era textiles, statuary, pottery, and carved ivory pieces. The collection also includes a 12 by 6-inch painting of Nawab Mumtaz Ali, which was painted with a single hair and required 15 years to be completed.
The house in which the museum is located offers insight into the lifestyles of upper-class Lahori families during the Sikh and British eras.
Lahore Fort World Heritage Site. Situated in the northwest corner of the Walled City of Lahore. From the 11th century, the Fort was destroyed and rebuilt several times by the early Mughals during the 13th to the 15th centuries (destroyed by the Mongols in 1241 and rebuilt in 1267, destroyed by Timur in 1398 and rebuilt in 1421, and then rebuilt of brick in 1560, it was added to by the Mughals and hosted the Brtish Army from 1846-1927 who removed the outer wall on the south and replaced it with steps). The 21 monuments remaining are outstanding Mughal architecture from the reign of Akbar (1542-1605): standardized masonry of baked brick and red sandstone courses relieved by Hindu motifs including zooomorphic corbels, through that of Shah Jahan (1627-58), The fort contains marble palaces and mosques decorated with mosaics and gilt. characterized by the use of luxurious marbles, inlays of precious materials, and mosaics, set within exuberant decorative motifs of Persian origins.
Picture Wall. To the left of the Shah Burg Gate, it is 1510′ long by 50′ high, it was built by Shah Jehan. It is one of the longest walls of its kind in the world. Made of glazed tile, filigree, frescoes, painted lime plaster, and brickwork, it depicts scenes of hunting, battles, angels, human figures, animals, birds, geometrics, and floral displays. It was restored in 2017-19.
Shah Burg Gate. Built by Shah Jehan in 1631-34, this is the only gate where one can enter the fort. It was originally only for royalty and led to the harem. It was restored in 2019.
Masjid Gate is flanked by two bastions and the Khana-e-Khas-o-Am (Public and Private Audience Hall). Akbar’s successor, Jahangir, finished the large north court (1617-18) begun by Akbar and, in 1624-25, decorated the north and northwest walls of the Fort. Shah Jahan added a fairytale-like complex of buildings surrounding the Court of Shah Jahan (Diwan-e-Kas, Lal Burj, Khwabgah-e-Jahangiri, and the Shish Mahal,
Sheesh Mahal (“The Palace of Mirrors”) is located within the Shah Burj block in the northern-western corner of Lahore Fort. It was constructed under the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1631–32, with some additions later under Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The ornate white marble pavilion is inlaid with pietra dura and complex mirrorwork of the finest quality. The hall was reserved for personal use by the imperial family and close aides. It is among the 21 monuments that were built by successive Mughal emperors inside Lahore Fort and forms the “jewel in the Fort’s crown.
Sheesh Mahal, in the Urdu language, literally means ‘Crystal Palace’. However, with its pietra dura decorations and intricate mirror-work inlaid into the white marble walls and ceilings creating a gleaming effect, the lavish room has come to be known as the ‘Palace of Mirrors’, and sometimes the ‘Hall of Mirrors’.
The solid brick foundations of Lahore Fort were laid in 1566 under the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar the Great on the location of an earlier mud-fort. Later, Shah Jahan converted the fort into a pleasure resort and added Diwan-i-Khas, Moti Masjid, Naulakha Pavilion, sleeping chambers, and Sheesh Mahal into the complex. The chamber was exclusively used for private council meetings as part of the daily routine of the emperor, whereas the whole block was only accessible to the imperial princes, the vizier, and selected courtiers.
The pavilion is in the form of a semi-octagon and consists of apartments roofed with gilded cupolas and intricately decorated with pietra dura and convex glass and mirror mosaic (ayina kari) with thousands of small mirrors. The decorative features also include stucco tracery (munabat kari) and carved marble screens in geometrical and tendril designs.
This is inside Lahore Fort (turn left immediately after the gate to access best). This has a fairly large courtyard and a small palace on one side – a central area with two small octagonal domed rooms on either side. 100 PR
Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Tentative WHS (14/12/1993). The mosque and its vast courtyard are raised on a platform approached by a handsome 22 steps. The double-story entrance is elaborately decorated with framed and carved panels on all its facades. At the four corners, there are square minarets surmounted by pseudo-pavilions of red sandstone with white marble cupolas. At the four corners of the courtyard are the tall octagonal minars (towers). Four smaller minarets, also octagonal, are attached to the corners of the prayer chamber. Above them rise three grand bulbous marble domes. The red sandstone of the building is decorated externally with unobtrusive lines and patterns in white marble inlay. The embellishment of the prayer chamber in the interior and exterior with Zanjira interlacing and flowers with their spidery tendrils, treated in bold relief, is a unique work of unsurpassed beauty and workmanship in Mughal architecture. The inscription on the gateway indicates that it was built in A.H. 1084 (1673-74 A.D)
When I first arrived at the large gate and entrance to the mosque, I was turned back and told to return at 2 pm. Seeing as the Lahore Fort was next door, I thought I would see it first. I ended up walking around about 95% of the huge fort to the Gate and saw the fort and Sheesh Mahal.
The courtyard of the mosque is 200m away, so I saw it and was finished by 1:50! There were no problems entering the busy mosque before 2 pm, but I had to walk a long way to do it.
Minar e-Pakistan is a national monument built between 1960 and 1968 on the site where the All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution (which was latter called Pakistan Resolution) in 1940 – the first official call for a separate and independent homeland for the Muslims of British India, as espoused by the two-nation theory. The tower is located in the middle of a garden, called Iqbal Park. The tower reflects a blend of Mughal/Islamic and modern architecture.
Today, the minaret provides a panoramic view to visitors who can climb up the stairs or access the top, through an elevator. The tower rises about 62 metres on the base, and the total height of the minar is about 70 metres above the ground. The unfolding petals of the flower-like base are 9 metres high.
Minar-e-Pakistan is considered the national emblem of Pakistan, and an expression of Pakistan’s national identity.
This is on the edge of the large park that borders the fort and back of the mosque. The park is mostly grass surrounding a circular pond with motorboats and a rock/grass area in the centre.
National History Museum. This is in the same park as Minar e-Pakistan and Lahore Fort. Good exhibits give a brief bit of most of Pakistan’s history concentrating on the partition.
Wazir Khan’s Mosque, Lahore Tentative WHS (14/12/1993) is a 17th-century mosque commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that also included the nearby Shahi Hammam baths. Construction of the Wazir Khan Mosque began in 1634 C.E. and was completed in 1641.
Considered to be the most ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque,[3] Wazir Khan Mosque is renowned for its intricate faience tile work known as kashi-kari, as well as its interior surfaces that are almost entirely embellished with elaborate Mughal-era frescoes. The mosque has been under extensive restoration since 2009.
In the courtyard is the tomb of Miran Badshah, an esteemed Sufi saint. Wazir Khan’s mosque was part of a larger complex that included a row of shops.
Bricks facing the mosque’s exterior are richly embellished with the Persian-style title work known as kashi-kari with star-shaped flowers and grapevines. The mosque also contains motifs of cypress trees, and is the first Mughal monument to have borrowed this motif from Persia.
Unlike the contemporary Shah Jahan Mosque in Sindh, the interior walls of Wazir Khan Mosque are plastered and adorned with highly detailed buon frescoes. The underside of the dome features frescoes depicting trees in pairs, pitchers of wine, and platters of fruit, which are an allusion to the Islamic concept of Paradise. The arched niche at the mosque’s entrance is richly decorated with floral motifs and features one of Lahore’s first examples of muqarnas.
The mosque’s courtyard contains a pool used for the Islamic ritual washing, wudu that measures 35 feet by 35 feet. The courtyard features a subterranean crypt which contains the tomb of the 14th-century Sufi saint Syed Muhammad Ishaq Gazruni, also known by the name Miran Badshah. The courtyard is flanked on four sides by 32 khanas, or small study cloisters for religious scholars. The mosque’s four 107-foot-tall minarets are located in each corner of the courtyard.
Lahore Station. Construction commenced shortly after the 1857 War of Independence against British rule, and so was built in the style of a medieval castle with thick walls, turrets, and holes to direct gun and cannon fire for the defense of the structure.
Dai Anga Mosque. Dai Anga Mosque is situated near the railway station of Lahore. The Mosque was built in 1635 AD by Zeb Un Nisa aka Dai Anga, who was the wet nurse of Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan and exerted great influence in the Mughal court. The exterior of the mosque has been embellished with fine tile work similar to that seen at the mosque of Wazir Khan in Lahore. The interior also displayed fine frescoes but during restoration replaced by cheap modern ceramic.
Oddly for a mosque anywhere (where there are never images of real things), there were two tile “pictures” of the mosques in Mecca and Medina.
National Museum of Science and Technology. Founded in 1965 near the University of Engineering & Technology, the exhibits concentrate on water technology. 100 PR
I stayed in Lahore for 2 more days. A Covid PCR at Chughtai Labs was 6500 PR cash with a 12-hour turnaround. It had to be carefully timed because of my next destination. My plan from the beginning was to fly to Dhaka, Bangladesh. It took a while to discover that Bangladesh has a 14-day quarantine. Phoning the embassy in Islamabad was useless but Google/flights and the government website stated it clearly. It was a visa on arrival. So this necessitated a big change of plans. I had hoped to go to India and the seven Northeast states but that bit the dust too.
My eventual destination was the Guyanas and then Brazil/Paraguay to finish South America, but flights to Georgetown were priced out of sight. So it was Port of Spain, Trinidad from where I could fly to Guyana fairly cheaply. CAD 2,000 Lahore to Port of Spain.
It was necessary to find a flight on Dec 28 that allowed me to get my Covid PCR test and then not have it expire before arriving in Trinidad. After 3 hours of searching (the algorithms are kind of amazing as different combinations continued to appear), I finally found one with four flights over 44 hours arriving with about 2 hours left on my test. Here is the itinerary.
Dec 28 – Lahore to Karachi on PIA 17:45 – 19:30; then two Emirates flights: Karachi to Dubai 22:30 – 23:59; 8’11” layover in Dubai (a nice airport); Dubai to Toronto Pearson 08:10 – 13:30 +1; 9’25” layover; Toronto to Port of Spain Trinidad on the Caribbean 22:55 – 05:35 +2.
I had a self-transfer of luggage in Karachi and Toronto. As a result, I had to get ArriveCan to enter Canada and could be subjected to another random Covid PCR. I had booked my Air BnB in Port of Spain and filled out the Trinidad Travel Pass (onerous, several pages, and 5 downloads), so was all set to go. I had brought my sleeping pad, pillowcase, and sleep sheet to get a nice sleep in both Dubai and Toronto if possible.
There could not be a bigger difference between Pakistan and first-world countries like Dubai and Canada. I used a credit card for the first time in 3 weeks in Dubai. Restaurants in the airport with a selection of food and sit-down eating.
Food in Pakistan has great street food – haleem, vegetable curries and biryani with naan, chapatis or rotis. The only meat available in Pakistan is chicken. Beef (and a hamburger) is unknown except at McDonalds. I got tired of chicken burgers after a while. Uber is much more functional and cheaper in Pakistan than tuk-tuks.
Margalla Hills NP. includes the Margalla Hills, which form the foothills of the Himalayas, along with Shakarparian Park and Rawal Lake. Established in 1980, it is the third-largest in the world with an area of 17,386 hectares (42,960 acres). Tilla Charouni (1604m) is the tallest peak in the park. Margalla Hills is a tourist destination, with Daman-e-Koh and Pir Sohawa serving as popular hill stations, while Shakarparian Cultural Complex and Lake View Park are popular picnic spots. The park is rich in biodiversity, especially Sino-Himalayan fauna, most notably gray goral, barking deer, and the Leopard, 402 bird varieties, 38 mammals, and 27 species of reptiles.
Lok Mela festival. A folk dance, music, and arts festival is organized by Lok Virsa. The festival aims to showcase traditional arts from the region.
