INFORMATION
Karachi
Karachi, the largest and the most populous city of Pakistan presents an interesting and colourful combination of the old and new. The narrow twisting lanes and alleys of the old city throb with life along-side the wide metalled roads and elegant modern buildings. Within the city, talented artisans with age-old skills produce handicrafts of exquisite beauty.Located on the National Highway, 27 kms from Karachi, Chaukundi tombs comprise of innumerable sandstone graves with strangely-carved motifs, date back to 16th-18th centuries in Sind. The Chaukundi Tombs are archaeologically interesting. The tombs are constructed out of slabs of rocks stacked into elongated pyramids of cubical stones and carved with exquisite designs, the origin of which remains a mystery.
About 64 kms (40 miles) east of Karachi is Banbhore, an archaeological site which some scholars identify with Debal, the port of city where the Arab General Mohammad Bin Qasim landed in 712 AD. This site is believed to be the port city of Daibul which flourished in 8th century AD. The museum at the site houses a rich collection of painted pottery, coins and beads etc. Banbhore is one of the Pakistan's old and most popular folk- stories Sassi-Pannu.
Haleji Lake
Situated 70 kms (about 52 miles) from Karachi. Haleji Lake
is considered to be largest water fall sanctuary in Asia, and is the main
reservoir for Karachi. Its 1-1/2 km off the Thatta road from the village of
Gujjo. Thousands of birds of over seventy species migrate here in winter from
Siberia and stay through January and February. The birds include flamingoes,
pelicans, pheasant-tailed jacanas, herons, ducks, partridges and agrets. It is a
paradise for those who love birds.
Thatta
Thatta, about 98 kms (61 miles) east of Karachi. At one
time Thatta was important as Sind's capital city and as a centre for Islamic
arts. From the 14th century four Muslim dynasties ruled Sind from Thatta, but in
1739 the capital was moved elsewhere and Thatta declined. It was believed that
this was the place where Alexander the Great rested his legions after their long
march.
The bazaars of Thatta are known for hand-printed fabrics, glass bangles and Sindi embroidery work in laid with tinny mirrors, one of the more world known handicrafts of Pakistan. Thatta is a fascinating town which appears to have scarcely moved out of the 18th century and is only slowly catching up with the modern world.
Hyderabad
Hyderabad, 164 km north of Karachi the second largest city
in Sind and one of the largest in Pakistan. Hyderabad is five km from the
eastern bank of the Indus changed its course away from Khudabad, at that time
the capital of the region, the new capital was shifted to Hyderabad. In 1766 the
Kalhora ruler constructed a fort half a square km in area and it still stands
today. In 1843 the British arrived and defeated the Talpurs, completing their
conquest of Sind.
In the old city, buildings are topped by badgirs that look
like chimneys on roof tops. They catch the cool breezes which blow steadily in a
south-west direction for 40 days from late April each year. Hyderabad is hot for
most of the year, although in autumn and winter the temperature dips down to
around 24 C . In the old sections of the town, cows still roam the streets
giving it a distinctly mediaeval atmosphere.
On the northern side of the hill on which Hyderabad is
sited there are tombs from the Talpur and Kalhora periods. The tomb of Ghulam
Shah Kalhora is one of the finest, although its dome collapsed and has now been
replaced by a flat roof.
Also worth a visit is the Institute of Sindhology's museum
at the University of Sind. It has displays on all aspects of Sindhi history,
music and culture depicting the lifestyles of the desert tribes. Infrequent GTS
buses go to the campus, otherwise take a miniwagon to Jumshero, across the river
from Hyderabad, and walk the 1-1/2 km to the university.
Kirthar National Park
This park may be visited for recreation education or
research but shooting is forbidden. A four hour drive north- east from Karachi,
of the Super Highway (for 4 WD vehicles only) takes the visitor deep into the
heart of Kirthar National Park, again preserve measuring over 3,000 square
kilometers in the Kirthar hills and a good destination for 3 day trip if the
bandits are brought under control. October to February is the most
comfortable...that is, coolest...time to go but the flowers bloom during the
(relatively) wet monsoon in August.
Five furnished rest house with cooking facilities and
running water are situated on the edge of a wide valley in the centre of the
park at Karchat. They are bookable through the Sind Wildlife Management Board,
which also hires out tents to those wish to camp. Some food is available if
ordered well in advance, but it is better to take your own food, drink and
bedding.
The rolling valleys and contorted, rugged lines of the
Kirthar hills form a natural haven for Urial sheep, ibex and chinkara gazelle.
Jungle cats, desert cats and even the occasional leopard or desert wolf also
prowl the park, but you would be extreme lucky to see them. Pangolins (scaly
anteaters), porcupines and monitor lizards are more in evidence.
Other attractions in the park are 18th century Chaukundi
style tombs at Taung and pre-historic archaeological remains at Koh Tarash. The
enormous Rani Kot Fort is also within the park, two hours by jeep from Karchat.
Rani Kot is about four hours from Karachi via the Super Highway and Indus
Highway.
Moenjodaro
At Moenjodaro (Mound of dead) in the west bank of
the Indus in Sind have been found the remains of one of the earliest and a most
developed urban civilisations of the ancient world. Discovered in 1922
Moenjodaro once metropolis of great importance forming part of the Indus Valley
Civilisation. Moenjodaro 4,000 years old brick ruins of the Indus Valley
Civilisation city of Moejodaro.
The Indus Valley Civilisation flourished from 3,000 to 15,00
BC, making it contemporary with the ancient civilisation of Egypt and
Mesopotamia. At its height, it comprised atleast 400 cities and towns along the
Indus and its tributaries, covering most of the present-day Pakistan and
stretching north-west as far as modern Kabul and east as far as modern Delhi.
The water ways were the main highways connecting the empire, and flat bottomed
barges almost identical to those still use today plied the rivers from city to
city. Few of the cities have been excavated.
The most imposing remains are those of the great bath which
consisted of an open quandrangle with verandahs on four sides, galleries and
rooms at the back, a group of halls on the north and a large bathing pool. It
was probably used for religious or ceremonial bathing. Nearby are the remains of
the great granary, possible public treasury where taxes were paid in kind.
Testifying to the high developed and artistic sensibility of the Moenjodaro
people is discovery of necklaces pendants of beads ear rings and anklets of
ivory and mother-of-pearl, vessels of silver, copper and browns and polished
stones weights and measures which suggest the existence of strangest civic
regulations.
From coins and poetries discovered, archaeologists believe
trade and cultural links existed between Moenjodaro and the contemporary
civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Various objects d'art found at
Moenjodaro include burnt clay male and female figurines, and models of the bird,
steatite bust of a noble man or a priest- king, wearing a loose robe on which
the trefoil pattern is engraved and small dancing girls in the browns with slim
figures and flat negroid features. Figural art is best illustrated by steatite
seals bearing life like representations of animals and mythological creates such
as is the unicorn. The ruins of this Indus Valley Civilisation face eminent
danger from the rising water tables and salinity. Government of Pakistan in
cooperation with UNESCO is making all possible efforts to avert this danger and
save Moenjodaro.
Kot Diji
Kot Diji site is 25 kms (15 miles) south of Khairpur town
in the Khairpur District of Sind. Archaeologists say that the discovery of this
pre-historic site has furnished information of high significance since it pushed
back the pre-history of Pakistan by atleast an other 300 years from about 2,500
BC to 2,800 BC. Evidence of new cultural element of pre-Harappan and pre-Moenjodaro
date has been found at Kot Diji. The excavations there have proved that the
Indus Valley Civilisations people borrowed or developed some of the basic
cultural elements of the Kot Dijians. The site consists of two parts: one
comprising the citadel area on the high ground where the ruling elite lived and
outer area inhabited by the common man. The Kot Diji culture is marked by well-
furnished well-made pottery and houses built of mud-bricks on stone foundations.
In fact, the Kot Dijian ceramics through different in form and technique are no
way less artistic then the sophisticated back-on-red pottery of Harappans. The
Harappans borrowed some of the basic culutral elements from Kot Diji. The
Harappan decorated designs such as the "fish scale " intersecting
circles and the pipal leaf pattern were evolved from the Kot Dijian decorated
elements like the horizontal and wavy lines, loops and simple triangular
patterns. There is a no proof yet of the place or the regions from where the Kot
Dijians arrived in the Indus Valley. Kot Diji situated between Ranipur and
Khairpur on the highway from Hyderabad, on the east bank of the Indus close to
Rohri. Worth site trip.
Sukkur
North of Larkana the landscape becomes luxuriant, and in
Sukkur the railway line and the highway split up, with a road and rail tracks
leading north-west to Quetta via Sibi and Jacobabad, while another highway and
railway line go via Rahimyar Khan and Sadiqabad straight to Multan. Sukkur is a
sprawling town, with beautiful mosques, gardens, shrines and madrazhis (Muslim
religious schools). A desert oasis town, similar to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, it
also boasts many havelis, however, unlike those of Jaisalmer, the Sukkur variety
are decorated with geometric, floral designs and painted in a variety of bright,
contrasting colours.Just across the Indus is Rohri, also fairly prosperous and
an important rail and road junction.
The two towns, 5 km apart and 544 km north of Karachi are
linked by the Landsdowne and Ayub bridges, which are extremely beautiful. There
is a medieval mosque with porcelain-tiled walls, and eight km away are remains
of the ancient city of Aror where Alexander the Great is said to have camped.
Profile,
History,
Pictures,
Information,
Map(s) Public
Libraries, Cinema
Houses & Theatres,Historical
Places, Expensive
Hotels, Moderate
Hotels, Cheap
Hotels, Restaurant, Bazaar,
Gift
Shop, Mall,
Carpet
Shops, Boutique,
Jewelry
Shop, Leather Clubs,Cultural
Organizations, Men's
& Women's Organizations, Beaches,
Gardens
& Parks Copyright
© prpakistan. All rights reserved.