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Tag: Saiyu Travel Pakistan

03.08.2020 update

（Drone Footage) Sirkap City Ruins, Taxila

This is the aerial view of the Taxila City Ruins Sirkap.
You can see the whole Ruins by aerial photography, where the city plan and roads are organized in a grid plan.

For more information about Sirkap Ruins, see here

Drone footage Sirkap, Taxila

 

 

Video & text : Mariko SAWADA

(Video is from a trip in Feb 2020)

Location : Sirkap, Taxila, Punjab

Category : = Video Clip Punjab > ◆ Video Breathtaking Views of Pakistan > - Monument / Heritage of Punjab > - Gandhara > - Taxila > ◆ Punjab > ◇ Heritage of Pakistan
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24.07.2020 update

(Drone Footage) Dharmarajika Stupa, Taxila

This is drone footage of the Dharmarajika Stupa.
Built in the 3rd century BC, it is one of the two stupas created in the Gandhara region by Mauryan King Ashoka. From the sky, you can see the circular platform of the huge stupa and the shrine surrounding it.

For information of the ruins of Dharmarajika, see here

Drone footage Dharmarajika Stupa, Taxila

 

Video & text: Mariko SAWADA
(Video is from a trip in Feb 2020)

Location : Dharnarajika, Taxila, Punjab

Category : = Video Clip Punjab > ◆ Video Breathtaking Views of Pakistan > - Monument / Heritage of Punjab > - Taxila > - Gandhara > ◆ Punjab > ◇ Heritage of Pakistan
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14.07.2020 update

Lahore Museum

Dating back since 1865, the Lahore Museum has a very long history. Opened in its current position in 1894, it is arguably the best museum in Pakistan, with its architecture and exhibition methods.

Built during the British Indian Empire, this is an “Indo-Saracenic architecture” building with elements of the Victorian’s Gothic Revival architecture and mixed with the traditional Indian architecture, was created by Lahore architect Sir Ganga Ram.

When you hear the term “Indo-Saracenic architecture” it might bring to mind the famous Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Station (formerly Victoria Station) in Mumbai, India, but you can also see similar buildings in old towns across Pakistan.

In 1875-1893, during the period of the British Indian Empire, the father of the writer Rudyard Kipling, most famous for his “The Jungle Book”, served as the director of the Lahore Museum. Later Lahore was featured in Kipling’s work, “Kim” which describes life during that time.

 

This is the entrance to the Lahore Museum. It starts with an exhibition of wooden carved doors from the Swart Valley.
This museum has galleries for each significant period of history of Pakistan, and features a wide variety of exhibits such as the Indus Valley Civilization (which may have ended now), Gandhara art, Mughal dynasty, the British Indian Empire era and more.

 

This museum is home to a world-renowned treasure of Pakistan: “The Fasting Siddhartha” It is a work from the 2nd to 3rd centuries, excavated from the ruins of a monastery in Sikri (Khaībar Pakhtūnkhwā).

“Siddhartha traveled around the country after he left home, seeking the way, by the end he had spent six years of ascetic fasting in the forest. He lost weight, but he couldn’t get enlightened through this practice. ”

From the depressed eyes to an emaciated body where the blood vessels and supporting bones are visible. The statue expresses the divine spiritual power that has gone through rigorous training, this image is said to be the essence of Gandhara art.

“The Fasting Buddha” is also exhibited at the Peshawar Museum in addition to being shown at the Lahore Museum.

 

A stone stupa excavated from the same site at the Sikri ruins is on display near the Fasting Buddha statue.

 

This is a statue of Hārītī (Hariti), protector of childeren. This was also excavated from Sikri.

Hārītī was known as a cannibal demon that kidnaps children. After learning from the Buddha, the feeling of loss by the parents who suffered from the death of their children, she became a “guardian deity of children” as she began to love both her own children and others. In addition, Hārītī was said to have about 500 or 1,000 children, so she is also called the “guardian of safe delivery.” She has pomegranate flowers adorning her hair, which is also a symbol of “fertility.”

Doesn’t this Hārītī have the look of a Greek goddess, like the goddess of fate, Tȳchē? It is a work that expresses the fusion of Eastern and Western civilization and art in Gandhara, where Greek gods appeared in Buddhist art.

 

And this is part of the Indian Gallery.

When you visit on a tour, you will spend almost all the time at the Gandhara Gallery (mainly with “The Fasting Buddha” statue when it’s a busy period), and you won’t have much time to see the other galleries, but this museum has many attractions such as miniature art from the Mughal Empire.

 

Photo & text: Mariko SAWADA
(Photos are from a trip in Oct 2019 – Feb 2020)
Location: Lahore Museum, Lahore, Punjab

Category : - Monument / Heritage of Punjab > - Gandhara > ◆ Punjab > - Lahore > ◇ Heritage of Pakistan > ◇ Museum of Pakistan
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05.07.2020 update

Taxila Museum

The Taxila Museum is where the artifacts from the archeological sites around the area are displayed. It is a very old museum built in 1928 when Pakistan was under the British Indian Empire.

 

In the hall, you will find displayed the Gandhara Buddha stucco (carried from the ruins), the pedestal of the Stupa, and the Buddhist legend engraved on the schist that once decorated the base of Stupa.

 

This is a replica of the votive Stupa at Mohra Moradu. It is a small stupa with seven-layered umbrella cover, and the real artifact is left in the monastery of the ruins.

 

This stupa is very similar to the one found at the top of Sanchi Stupa in India. There is a flat square and topped with “umbrellas.” Surrounding it is the “summit railing” in which the wooden fence has been replaced with stone.

 

As part of the stupa display, you can see these decorative stones.

 

This is the base of the votive Stupa. You can see the Buddha statue, with Greek columns between each panel, as well as the Atlas God supporting the base of the pedestal.

 

There are many exhibits that symbolize the fusion of Eastern and Western cultures. This piece shows a festoon pattern. This displays a young man holding a wavy festoon (garland of flowers), which originated in Greece and Rome, and was very popular in Gandhara.
The cupid seems to carry the raised part of the festoon, and the lower part is decorated with grapes and a ribbon.

 

This looks like a foreign person standing beside the Buddha statue. A stunning stucco statue that was decorating the Jaulian ruins and according to the description, it is “probably the consecrator and his wife.” It is thought that they are of the Saka race due to the shape of the hat.

 

And then this exotic figure, the Greek goddess of love, appearing in Gandhara, is Aphrodite.

 

Photo & Text : Mariko SAWADA

(Photos are from a trip in Feb 2020)

Location : Taxila Museum, Taxila, Punjab

 

Category : - Monument / Heritage of Punjab > - Gandhara > - Taxila > ◆ Punjab > ◇ Heritage of Pakistan > ◇ Museum of Pakistan
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26.06.2020 update

Takht-i-Bahi, Ghandara’s Buddhist Monastery

The ruins of Gandhara include city ruins like Taxila’s Sirkap and Buddhist temples secluded deep in the mountains. Takht-i-Bahi is a typical example of Buddhist temples built during this time. Takht-i-Bahi is 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Peshawar and 15 km (9 miles) from the town of Mardan and has been a well-preserved archaeological site since long ago.
In the 1 – 7th Centuries AD, Gandhara art had reached its peak in the Kushan Dynasty with the flourishing Buddhist temples. The (winter) capital of this era was Purushapura, which today, is known as Peshawar.

 

The Takht-i-Bahi Buddhist site was built on a mountain, rising 150m (492 feet) above the plains. Walking up the well-maintained stairs, you will arrive at the archeological site and at the entrance of the dedication tower area.

This photo of the wall of the ruins was taken just at the entrance. The upper section is an unrestored wall from the Gandhara era, but the white line shows the lower part, which is engraved with “A.S.I 1946” by archeological teams. “A.S.I.” stands for the “Archaeological Survey of India,” which worked to excavate and restore the site back during the British Indian Empire in 1946, before India and Pakistan separated.

 

The ruins of Takht-i-Bahi still retain the structure of the typical Gandhara Buddhist Temple, which includes the Main Stupa Court, the votive Stupa court, the monastery, meditation room and other structures.
Touring this site on foot, we came to this Stupa court, as the first thing we saw. There are 35 consecrated stupas lined up in a row between the South Tower and the North Monastery. Now, only the base of the structure is left. The base is decorated with Greek styled columns.

 

The votive Stupa Court
Of the 35 holy stupas, 2 are round base and the rest are rectangular in shape.

 

This is the monastery. There were 15 small cells surrounding the courtyard, each cell having a wall with a lamp on it, and some having a second floor. There is also what looked to be the remnants of a kitchen on the edge of the courtyard.

 

This is the Main Stupa. As you go up the stairs, you will see a square, then there is a 6.2m (20.3 foot) platform for the Main Stupa. There are shrines lined up on all three sides of this stupa, and stucco statues were placed in the wall of shrines.

 

This is a shrine near the stairs to the Main Stupa. The three sides are walled off and back in those days it was probably covered with stucco statues.

 

A basement area that is most likely a meditation room. The small room is pitch-black, but it connects to the bright courtyard.

This is the base of the stupa court where the caretaker lives. You can see the stucco of an Acanthus leaf sticking out from the top of the column. There is even still some color left.

 

If you climb up the mountain a little more, it leads to the observatory overlooking the ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and the town below. There are still many other buildings visible from here, so it is impressive to think what a huge Buddhist temple Takht-i-Bahi used to be.

 

Photo & text: Mariko SAWADA

(Photos are from a trip in Oct 2019, Feb 2020)

Location : Takht-i-Bhai, Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

Category : - Gandhara > ◆Khyber Pakhtunkhwa > - Takht-i-Bahi > ◇ Heritage of Pakistan
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17.06.2020 update

Taxila – Mohra Moradu

This is Mohra Muradu, one of Taxila’s historic Buddhist ruins. It’s actually a mysterious sounding name, but the ruins of Gandhara’s monastery and stupa is simply taken from the nearby village, Mohra Muradu.
This picture shows the main stupa square platform, which is 4.75m (15.6 ft) tall.

 

Mohra Muradu has two stupas. There is a main stupa and a smaller stupa to the south of it, and there are stucco statues (decorative stucco) of Buddha and elephants which remain preserved on the walls.

 

The monastery has 27 cells on all four sides of a square courtyard, and some of them have stairs, so you can see some had additional levels. The central part of the garden is empty, possibly used for ceremonial baths.

 

This is a preserved Stucco Buddha statue (decoratively lacquered) in the monastery. The coloring remains despite the many years that have passed.

 

The highlight and masterpiece of Mohra Muradu is this 4m (13 ft) tall monumental votive stupa. Found in a small cell of the monastery, it is a hemispherical bowl on a circular platform, with a flat box-shaped fixture on it (probably a place to store a sarira, a container holding the Buddha’s remains). And on top, is a decorative 7-layered umbrella-shaped structure.
When you have so many layers, it doesn’t even really look like an umbrella, but it was a must-have item during the Buddha’s day. When a king or nobleman was outside, servants held an umbrella over by his head. It became a symbol of respect as well for Buddha, and the believers donated umbrella covers stacked to the top.

 

This is the 5 layer circular platform of the votive stupa. Each panel on the sides is separated by Corinthian columns (influenced by the Greeks) and decorated with carved reliefs of Buddha.
Also supporting at the base, is the elephant and the Greek god Atlas, who was said to “carry the sky at the west end of the world.”

 

Photo & text : Mariko SAWADA

(Photos are from a trip in 2005）

Location : Mohra Moradu, Taxila, Punjab

Category : - Monument / Heritage of Punjab > - Taxila > - Gandhara > ◆ Punjab > ◇ Heritage of Pakistan
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08.06.2020 update

Dharmarajika – Taxila

In the 3rd Century BC, there were 2 stupas built by the Mauryan Empire King Ashoka in the Ghandara region. One is the stupa at Butkara ruins in Swat, and the other is the Dharmarajika stupa in Taxila.

Today, the oldest stupa which overall retains its original shape is the one in Sanchi, India, but there are similar huge stupas in the Ghandara region, built in the same circular form. However, unlike Sanchi’s stupas, they do not have column shields or trana. Instead there are shrines and smaller stupas around the main stupa.

 

The main stupa stands at height of 15m and a diameter of 30m.
Around 500 BC, the Buddha entered Nirvana (passed away) around Kushinagar. Seven days later, he was cremated and the relics (sarira) were placed in a relic urn in eight tombs at the bottom of the center of the tomb. This was the first stupa, and the sarira and its urn were worshipped.
In 3rd century BC, the Mauryan King Ashoka collected the relics (sarira) and distributed them to place in newly built stupas. The Dharmarajika stupa enshrines the relics.

 

The Main Stupa has a path of circumambulation (a path around the temple for walking prayer) and around it, there is a group of shrines and smaller stupas that were built in the 1st century BC to 4th century AD by the Kushan Empire in Ghandara.

On the walls of the square-shaped platform, you can see the Ghandara style architecture with panels and wall tiles separated by the Corinthian columns.

 

Decorations on the base of small stupas show elephants and figures supporting the platform. These are the figure of the Greek God Atlas.

 

Atlas is a Greek myth that supports the sky at the western end of the world. In Gandhara, it appears to support the pedestal of the Buddha and the platform of the stupa. The Greek gods seem to be supporting the Buddhist world view, the beautiful expression of the fusion of Eastern and Western cultures … it’s truly romantic.

 

There are remnants of stucco Buddha status inside the shrine, but unfortunately, they were destroyed. The Stucco statue is a clay statue made in Ghandara that was popular from the 3rd to 4th century AD.

For sightseeing in Taxila, the three main attractions are the Taxila museum, city ruins of Sirkap and the Jaulian monastery, but I hope you can take time to visit the Dharmarajika, too!

Text & Photo : Mariko SAWADA
Visit : Feb 2020, Dharmarajika, Taxila, Punjab

 

Category : - Monument / Heritage of Punjab > - Taxila > - Gandhara > ◆ Punjab > ◇ Heritage of Pakistan
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01.06.2020 update

Sirkap – Taxila

About 30km northwest of Islamabad, the Taxila ruins are located at the eastern edge of an area that once flourished in Ghandara art (Buddhist visual art). Taxila is a group of archeological sites, stupas, monasteries etc. but among them, Sirkap city archeological site is an important area which is a must-visit for all tourists.

 

In the 2nd century BC, the city was built by Bactrian Greeks (Indo-Greek) who flourished in northern Afghanistan. The ruins of the town are located off of the main street and they spread out in a grid pattern, the foundations of the shops, Buddhist temples and Buddhist pagodas endure.

 

Ghandara stood in a cultural intersection where it received the cultural influence of India from the east and the cultural inspirations from Greece and Persia (Iran) from the west. The iconic buildings that symbolize that remains in Sirkap.

This is the “Double-Headed Eagle Stupa” that remains in Sirkap. There are three panels separated by Corinthian wall columns with shoots of Acanthus decorations on the wall of either side of the stairs in front of the square platform.

 

The beautifully preserved panels just to the right of the stairs.

In the panel on the very left, the Greek temple style building with the triangular gables.
Decorating the central panel is a double-headed eagle-like bird perched on top of an arched building shaped like the entrance to the Indian Chaitya Temple. The double-headed eagle is a design often found in Western Asia such as in Hittite and Babylonia.
On the rightmost panel is an Indian Torana (like the Indian Sanchi stupas) with a bird-like figure on top of it.

The Taxila Double-Headed Eagle Stupa is a structure that captures your imagination, blending the architectural artistry of India, Greece and Western Asia.

 

An aerial view of Sirkap, taken by drone, shows a large circular building foundation on the left side of the main street. It is said that it is the remains of a Chaitya temple because it has the same structure of the sacred temples.

It had been quite a long time since I was last able to visit Sirkap, but this time, I could see many students from Pakistan and families coming out for a picnic. Most of the Ghandara ruins are located on mountain tops, but this one is a flat, easy to access spot where people can enjoy the family time.

 

Photo & Text : Mariko SAWADA

Visit : Feb 2020, Sirkap, taxila, Punjab

Category : - Taxila > - Gandhara > ◆ Punjab > ◇ Heritage of Pakistan
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24.05.2020 update

(Vlog) Safe? Discovering the heart of Pakistan!Is it Safe? Discovering the heart of Pakistan! (including an insightful Travel Vlog shared by our customer)

This February, we traveled the heart of Pakistan with a Swiss and Mexican couple, Lucas and Patricia. Indus Caravan lead the trip from Lahore to Peshawar along the Grand Trunk Road, the railway made during the British-Indian Empire. Please check out the travel vlog from the eyes of a tourist traveling Pakistan, with the narration in Spanish and the subtitles in English.

Safe? Discovering the heart of Pakistan!

The insightful video takes you along the journey from Peshawar to Rhori, a riverside town to the Indus and the train station. The vlog touches on the “History and Hospitality of Pakistan” from the Mughal period, the influence of the British-Indian Empire, to now.

 

Text : Mariko SAWADA

Special Thanks to SUMMERMATTER DIAZ ENRIQUETA PATRICIA.
Please visit her website : https://elpadiro.ch/

Category : = Video Clip KPK > = Video Clip Punjab > ◆ Video Breathtaking Views of Pakistan > ◆Khyber Pakhtunkhwa > ◆ Punjab > ◇ Pakistan Railways > ◇ Pakistan Travel Tip
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17.05.2020 update

”Kuch”, a summer in Shimshal Pamir

In northern Pakistan, near the border with China, we spent time with the women of Shimshal village as they take their livestock to the ‘Pamir’ in a migration called “Kuch”. This is about our Kuch experience, which took place in June 20, 2011.

In 2010, due to the traffic restrictions around Attabad Lake on the Karakoram Highway, I was unable to participate in the Kuch. In 2011, our   “Shimshal Pamir” tour became a kind of event with participants who wait for a year. For the Shimshal Village, it ended up being the biggest ever ‘Yak Safari’ group since they started tours to the most difficult Shopodin Pass at 5,346m. It was made up of 52 yaks and 61 people, making it the “Big Kuch” including our group.
These photos show the state of Kuch in 2011. The number of women joining Kuch has drastically reduced in 2018 and 2019, making this tradition a thing of the past, unfortunately.

 

On the morning of Kuch, we left the camp where shimshal’s women  had been staying at from May 20 to June 20. As we shut the door behind us, we said goodbye to our life in the summer village of Shuizherav (or Shuizerav). The elderly women, give us all a traditional send-off, with their cupped hands turned up, as a sign of respect.

 

The corral of the sheep and goats was opened, and the large group climbed up to the first pass. The local woman, walks while holding the fragile things like a lantern and even a newborn goat that is still unable to walk.

 

They made time for us to take a commemorative photo together just up the Shuizherav Hill. The Kuch tradition can only be carried out with the close cooperation of the whole family and good friends of their fellow villagers.

 

Shimshal women carrying children and goat kids in their arms. The goats and sheep walk slower, so the women take care of them as a separate group.

 

Our group was riding along on the yak, together with the female yaks and the group of calves. During the Kuch, the Yaks are being pushed along from behind, so they tend to walk a little faster paced then normal. I was simply blown away by the powerful women of Shimshal, as they power walked at such high elevations of around 4,500m.

 

As I looked behind me, the herd was coming up from behind us. From the Shimshal Pass (4,735m) with female yaks and calves group along with the villagers, we aim toward our destination of Shuwerth. I was so overcome by excitement, that I forgot about the high altitude.

 

The Shuwerth summer village (4,670m) is where the women will live from June 20 for three months. Called the ‘Pamir’ by the Shimshal villagers, it is a rich field where humans and livestock live close together. I was invited to take part in the ceremony to give thanks to their God for our safe arrival in the ‘Pamir’, and then ate some Shimshal cheese together with the everyone.
So many goats, sheep and yaks…too many for me to count. In the midst of the baa-baas (crying sounds of the goats and sheep) and the moo-moos (crying sounds of the yak calves), there is a shared sense of presence as we are making our way together towards ‘Pamir’. It will be my treasured memory forever.

 

Photo & text: Mariko SAWADA
Visit: Jun 2011, Shimshal Pamir, Shimshal, Gilgit-Baltistan

※This article is updated and based on the blog “Salaam Pakistan” which was first uploaded in July 2011. The Shimshal kuch tradition is rapidly waning. I have heard that you can no longer see many women from the villages in 2018 & 2019.

 

Category : ◆ Gilgit-Baltistan > - Shimshal
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