Heavy motorbike race held on Lahore-Islamabad motorway

A heavy motorbike race was held for the first time on the Lahore-Islamabad motorway on Tuesday.

Fifty motorcycle riders participated in the race which ranged from Toll plaza Lahore to Bhera.

Federal ministers Samsam Bukhari and Imtiaz Safdar Waraich and IG-Motorway Dr Waseem Kausar also witnessed the race.

Motorcycles from 600cc to 1837cc were included in the race.

Punjab minister for local bodies Dost Mohammad Khosa also took part in the race and rode on a 1300 cc motorcycle.

Youth interested in heavy motorcycle race participated from all over the country.

Source: News

Gilgit (Urdu: گلگت, Hindi: गिलगित) is the capital city of the Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Gilgit City forms a tehsil of Gilgit, within Gilgit District. Its ancient name was Sargin, later to be known asGilit, and it is still called Gilit or Sargin-Gilit by local people. In the Burushaski language, it is named Geelt and in Wakhi and Khowar it is called Gilt. Ghallata is considered its name in ancient Sanskrit literature. Gilgit City is one of the two major hubs in the Northern Areas for mountaineering expeditions to the Karakoram and other the peaks in the Himalayas, the other hub being Skardu. Gilgit has an area of 38,000 square kilometres (14,700 sq mi). The region is significantly mountainous, lying on the foothills of the Karakoram mountains, and has an average altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). It is drained by the Indus River, which rises in the neighbouring regions of Ladakh and Baltistan.

History

A view from the city of Gilgit, in Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistan

Gilgit was an important city on the Silk Road, along which Buddhism was spread from South Asia to the rest of Asia.

The Dards and Chinas appear in many of the old Pauranic lists of peoples who lived in the region, with the former also mentioned inPtolemy's accounts of the region. Two famous travellers, Faxian and Xuanzang, traversed Gilgit according to their accounts.

Early history

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The former rulers had the title of Ra, and there is reason to suppose that they were at one time Hindus, but for the last five centuries and a half they have beenMohammedans. The names of the Hindu Ras have been lost, with the exception of the last of their number, ShriBuddutt. Tradition relates that he was killed by a Mohammedan adventurer, who married his daughter and founded a new dynasty, since called Trakhàn, from a celebrated Ra named Trakhan, who reigned about the commencement of the fourteenth century. The previous rulers—of whom Shri Buddutt was the last—were called Shahreis. Trakhàn Dynasty Gilgit was ruled for centuries by the local Trakhàn Dynasty, which ended about 1810 with the death of Raja Abas, the last Trakhàn Raja.[2] A Dance at Gilgit by G. W. Leitner, 1893 The rulers of Hunza and Nager also claim origin with the Trakhàn dynasty. They claim descent from a heroic Kayani Prince of Persia, Azur Jamshid (also known as Shamsher), who secretly married the daughter of the king Shri Badat. She conspired with him to overthrow her cannibal father.[3] Sri Badat's faith is theorised as Hindu by some[3][4] and Buddhist by others.[5][6] However, considering the region's Buddhist heritage, with the most recent influence being Islam, the most likely preceding influence of the region is Buddhism. Though the titular Sri and the name Badat denotes a Hindu origin of the this ruler. Prince Azur Jamshid succeeded in overthrowing King Badat who was known as Adam Khor (literally man-eater)[7][8], often demanding a child a day from his subjects, his demise is still celebrated to this very day by locals in traditional annual celebrations[9]. In the beginning of the new year, where a Juniper procession walks along the river, in memory of chasing the cannibal king Sri Badat away[10]. Azur Jamshid abdicated after 16 years of rule in favour of his wife Nur Bakht Khatùn until their son and heir Garg, grew of age and assumed the title of Raja and ruled, for 55 years. The dynasty flourished under the name of the Kayani dynasty until 1421 when Raja Torra Khan assumed rulership. He ruled as a memorable king until 1475. He distinguished his family line from his step brother Shah Rais Khan (who fled to the king of Badakshan and with who's help he gained Chitral from Raja Torra Khan), as the now-known dynastic name of Trakhàn. The descendants ofShah Rais Khan were known as the Ra'issiya Dynasty

Thatha

Thatta or Thatto (Urdu: ٹھٹہ, Sindhi: ٺٽو) is an historic town of 22,000 inhabitants in the Sindhprovince of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments are listed among the World Heritage Sites. Due to its proximity to the huge port of Karachi, the picturesque old town is frequented by visitors, especially on weekends.

The city, formerly commanding the delta of the Indus, was the capital of Lower Sindh from the 14th century. During the ruling period of Soomro Tribe Thatta was the capital of Sindh for 95 years. Between 1592-1739, it was governed in the name of the Mughal emperors of Delhi. In 1739 however following the Battle of Karnal the province was ceded to Nadir Shah of Persia, after which Thatta fell into neglect. Thatta may be the site of ancient Patala,the main port on the Indus in the time of Alexander the Great. Siltation has caused the Indus to change its course many times since the days of Alexander, and the site of Patala has been subject to much conjecture. Ahmad Hasan Dani, director of the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations, Islamabad, concluded: “There has been a vain attempt to identify the city of Patala. If ‘Patala’ is not taken as a proper name but only refers to a city, it can be corrected to ‘Pattana’, that is, city or port city par excellence, a term applied in a later period to Thatta, which is ideally situated in the way the Greek historians describe”.

History

Sights

Thatta's monuments include the Jama Mosque (also Shah Jahan Mosque and Badshahi Mosque), built by Shah Jahan in 1647-49 and lined with glazed tiles. This edifice has 101 domes and is designed in such a way that imam's voice can reach every corner of this building without the help of any loudspeaker or other device. There are also the tombs of Jam Nizamuddin, Satihoo Seven Soomro Sisters (reigned in 1461-1509), several Tarkhan rulers and Mughal officials. A vast old necropolis with thousands of graves may be found at the nearby Makli Hills.

Thatta is historically an important region of Sindh which has served as a centre of literature, religious ideologies and socio political clashes. The amalgamated past of this area made its geographic locations into an unforgettable scenery. Makli, the heart of interior Sindh is counted among one of the largest necropolis in the world. Located a few kilometers away from Thatta , Makli is truly the place where history starts to speak about its immaculate past and the legends and myths it has undertaken. Makli is an unforgettable visual experience with the most vibrant archaeological sites in Pakistan; it covers about 15-1/2 square kilometers. The mausoleums and [[tombs in Makli are one of the greatest ruins of Sindh and also dictate a lot about Sindh's communal structure from 14 to 18th century. Apart from the mausoleums of Jam Nizam al-Din and Jan Beg Takhan, Makli has undertaken a lot of Sufis, warriors, poets, intellectuals. The artistic monuments at Makli show proof of Islamic ideologies and the Hindu mythology as well, which in itself is a great documentation of the socio cultural past of Sind.

The huge graves are made of solid rock and the mosuleums of the sun baked brick with different kinds of Quranic verses embossed on them. Another historical landmark that resides in Thatta is the Shah Jahan Masjid built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, which is one of the most beautiful gifts given to Sindh by the Mughal emperor. This mosque was built on the orders of Shah Jahan, for the people of Thatta because they welcomed him with open hearts when his father died.

The Shah Jahan Mosque is a great example of highly defined tile work. In total this mosque has 33 arches and 93 domes which are of different sizes which adds the flavor to its beauty. White and Blue tiles of glowing texture have been put together in such a manner that it looks like a beautiful mosaic. The most surprising fact about this mega structure is that unlike other Mughal buildings such as Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, this building has negligible amount of pink sandstone in it. The characteristic that makes this mosque unique is that it has no minarets in it and it only has one dome which lies in the central prayer hall.Walking through the mosque if your eyes move towards the inside of the rooftop, then you cant' stop staring and only one thing comes to your mind that only a genius like Shahjehan can think of such a beauty , who also envisioned the Taj Mahal which is counted among the wonders of the world. Peeping through the landmarks of interior Sindh.

Sites of Pakistan Khewra

Khewra Salt Mines is a salt mine located in Khewra, Jhelum District, Punjab in Pakistan, about 160 kilometres (99 mi) from Islamabad and 260 kilometres (160 mi) from Lahore. It attracts up to 40,000 visitors per year and is the second largest salt mine in the world. Situated in the foothills of the Salt Range, the Khewra Salt Mines are the oldest in the South Asia.

Salt has been mined at Khewra since 320 BC, in an underground area of about 110 square kilometres (42 sq mi). Khewra salt mine has estimated total of 220 million tonnes of rock salt deposits. The current production from the mine is 325,000 tons salt per annum.

The mine-head buildings have 19 stories, with 11 below ground. Only 50% salt is extracted and 50% is left as pillers to keep the mountain. The salt-mine is 288 metres (945 ft) above sea level and extends around 730 metres (2,400 ft) inside the mountains from the mine-mouth. The cumulative length of all tunnels is more than 40 kilometres (25 mi).

Salt occurs in a Pre-Cambrian deposit in the form of an irregular dome-like structure. There are seven thick salt seams with a cumulative thickness of about 150 meters. At places the rock salt is 99% pure. Salt is transparent, white, pink, reddish to beef-color red. There are beautiful alternate bands of red and white color salt.

It is said that when Alexander visited South Asia, coming across the Jhelum and Mianwali region, Khewra Salt Mines were discovered. The discovery of the mines, however, was not made by Alexander nor his "allies", but by his horse. It is stated that when Alexander's army stopped here for rest, the horses started licking the stones. One of his soldiers took notice of it and when he tasted the rock stone, it was salty thus leading to the discovery of the mines.

Afterwards this mine was wholly purchased by a local Raja and from that era to Independence of Pakistan this mine remained property of locally living Janjua Rajas who were sons of Raja Mal.

They are linked to the nearest place called Malot Fort constructed by Raja Mal Janjua.