Monthly Archive for October, 2007

Day 149 – Jinnahs mausoleum (Quaid-e-Azam)

Published on October 27, 2007 in Cultural and Daily life. 0 Comments

Quaid-e-Azam is a name given to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan by Pakistanis, it means “Great leader”. On a random Sunday the interns have asked me if I want to join for a trip to his mausoleum.. I said “sure” :)

The building is very massive and is visible from far, it is actually very simple in architecture but the closer You get the more impressive it is. As the park around the mausoleum is huge (53 hectares), a lot of people are coming here just to hang out, but picnics are officially forbidden.

Few facts: The dome is 43 meters high and 75 meters wide/long, built on 4 meters high platform. 15 successive fountains head to it. Finished in 1970.

We have come here during sunset and have seen not just the tomb itself but also the procedure of putting down the flag and also how the lights went up. We have left to early to see how it looks like during night.

Definitelly a place to go to… not just to see the tomb, but also because of the people as for most of the visitors take this as an occassion and come in very nice colourful clothes, all parfume and make-up… As example, in one moment (dont ask me why) maybe 50 girls with all colours of clothes showed up.

Days 133-138 – Eid in Islamabad

Published on October 16, 2007 in Cultural, Islamabad and Weird and random. 0 Comments

Eid is the day when Ramzan finished. Big holidays when everything is closed, thats why nearly all the interns in Karachi and Lahore have decided to go to Islamabad.

So here is a brief outline of my experiences in Islamabad:

train traveling – arriving late at night after 20 hours in train in “Low Air Conditioned” class… horrible, the carriage was so cold that I have spent most of time at open door…

partying – the international community of Islamabad has a life quite different from that of the rest of Pakistan. Some of them actually say that “Islamabad is 20 minutes out of Pakistan“. I have been on a party organized by a few US guys who live here. The party was pretty big mix of different nationalities and was a real party (You know what I mean :P ). It was a pretty unreal feeling, being on a terrace of a house in the middle of a other houses with beer in my hand and LOUD music booming behing me… Definitely not the Pakistan I have imagined :)

sightseeing – I have visited again the Faisal Mosque. First time during the Friday prayers and later at night. We have also went in and actually also have been alowed to take pictures. The mosque itself is nice, but not too beautiful, but what makes it amazing is the size and location… Seing the hills right behind the mosque (a path starts a few meters behind it) is really experience.

Of similar interest was the National monument a work of (quite colosal) art which is still in development. A beautiful place that not just offers interesting sights of the monument itself and views on Islamabad, but also offers a lesson of history of Pakistan (via reliefs in the monument).

hiking - on one of the days when I was alone I went to the view point above Islamabad called Daman-e-Koh, it was a hike that lasted maybe 15 minutes up hill, but was refreshing as I had not been hiking for a long time… I have seen the “famous” Islamabad monkeys and also tested if You can call the forests of Margalla Hills can be called “forest“, they can be – as soon as You leave the path walking is very difficult due to thorn bushes and creepers. The hills offer a mix of leaf trees and random palm trees and are very easy for hiking.

On one of the hikes I had a chance to see the Faisal Mosque and Red Mosque from distance, their proximity was a little bit disturbing.

One important warning – dont hike there alone or without local people… its stupid idea, trust me.

eating – if I have not told to You till now, Eid is mostly about eating. Some of the locals said that You dont have real Eid if You dont eat at least 5 times per day… We had Eid :) We have been invited to dinner by three different families and everywhere we went have been offered food… I definitelly gained some weight!

Days 125-6 – My first visit to Hyderabad (MC team days)

Published on October 4, 2007 in AIESEC time. 0 Comments

For those of You who are confused now because they had the feeling that Hyderabad is India – You are correct. For those of You who are confused because doubt I had time (and visa) to get to India – You are correct….

There is city of Hyderabad both in India and Pakistan.

The most I was interested in the Hyderabad fort, which is right now a part of the city, in other words, its not that just people live in it, it has become just a “big house” in the middle of other houses. Hydarabad had a very interesting history. Sadly we didnt have time to go there… next time soon!

You can read it whole here on wikipedia. But some excerpts:
- was once called Paris of India, its streets have been washed with parfume every day
- the Hyderabad fort built in 1700s and today fully inhabitated
- biggest producer of bangles in the World
- seat of Bombay Bakery, one of most famous bakeries in Pakistan