Thatta
Thatta is an ancient city of the Indus delta. The city is situated about 100 kilometers from Karachi, Pakistan via the national highway. It had great importance in history and today is famous for its archeological sites and centuries old monuments, which are great tourist attractions. According to historians Thatta may have been the main port on the Indus in the time of Alexander the Great’s invasion. The river Indus has changed its course many times since the days of Alexander, and this ancient site of Patala has been subject to much conjecture (the river changes course slowly due to a process called “siltation” which is essentially water pollution by fine silt particles).
Thatta was the capital of three successive dynasties, the traces of which are evident in the Makli necropolis, which spreads over a twelve square kilometer area. These dynasties are: Samma (1335-1520), Arghun (1520-1555) and Tarkhan (1555-1665). There are archeological sites in the city and on its outskirts. The most famous of these sites is the Makli Hill, which is the biggest necropolis in the world and about three kilometers from Thatta.
Thatta is historically an important region of Sindh which has served as a centre of literature, religious ideologies and socio political clashes. 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 a vibrant archaeological site 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.
Makli Hills
The Makli Hills are home to the largest graveyard in the world. Thereby, the place is popularly known as the Makli graveyard or the city of silence. The graveyard is spread over an area of about 16 kilometers and is said to be the resting place of more than a million people including various nobles, saints, scholars, soldiers etc belonging to the different eras. As the River Indus changed its course over the time, the once fertile land of Makli has now turned into a dry, arid landscape. This is one reason why this historical site has deteriorated over time.
The Makli Graveyard is among UNESCO’s World Heritage sites. This necropolis has a unique style of the graves, which are made out of brick or stone. While some of the graves are beautifully decorated with glazed tiles, others are made in a building like structure i.e. one over the other. The tombs of saints are embossed with verses of the Holy Quran, whereas the graves of warriors have carvings of weapons such as dagger and swords. It is the resting ground of people belonging to different eras and different civilizations and so it is of great importance to historians, architects, archaeologists, calligraphists etc.
Shahjahan Masjid
Thatta is a famous city of Sindh because of its rich culture and deep roots in the history. This city witnessed the ups and downs for emperors. One of its best attractions is the Shahjahan Mosque which was built from the year 1644 to 1647. Mughal emperor Shahjahan took special interest in its construction. This Mosque is present in the city of Thatta, Sindh with full glory and amazing architecture. UNESCO also included it in the list of National heritage in the year 1993. Royal King Shahjahan spent around 9lac Shahjahani Rupees at that time. The foundations of Shahjahani Mosque are 12 feet to 15 feet deep in the soils and include the mountain’s hard stone. There are 5 small and big doors in it along the 100 domes and 94 pillars.
The Best feature of this Shahjahan Mosque is its unique dome designs that the sound circulates all over the mosque without loudspeakers. The air circulation system is also appreciable and environment of it remains calm all the time. More than 20,000 peoples can offer the prayers in this mosque at a single time. Water pound and the garden are present in the front side of it which enhances the attraction.
Keenjhar Lake
Keenjhar Lake is also called Kalri Lake. It is located in Thatta District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is situated about 122 kilometres from Karachi. The lake is about 24 kilometers long and 6 kilometers wide. Its maximum depth is 26 feet. The Indus River flows parallel to the lake. Kalri Lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes of Pakistan.
Basically, Kalri Lake is formed by the union of two lakes named Sonehri and Keenjhar. The purpose behind this formation is to supply fresh water to the people of Karachi and Thatta District. It is considered an extremely important place for wildlife. It is a favourable place for habitat of winter birds like duck, geese, flamingos, cormorants, herons, coots, and gulls.
Kalri Lake is a beautiful tourist resort. A large number of people daily visit there from Karachi, Hyderabad and Thatta. The folk poets find Keenjhar Lake as a great source of inspiration. Shah Abdul Latif Bhatai praised this place in his poetry. The famous folklore of Sindh, Noori Jam Tamachi is associated with this place. Jam Tamachi, the ruler of Sindh married the beautiful fisher girl Noori. In the middle of the lake there is a tomb which is known as Noori’s tomb. It is a famous spot and can be seen from the shore. Hundreds of people visit this shrine every day. Folklore of Jhum Pir and Sonehri, the prince and the fairy, is also related to this place. Kalri Lake is a very nice place to be visited with family and friends. There is a small restaurant for tourists named Noori Restaurant near the shore of lake. People from all over the Pakistan visit this lake.
Kirthar National Park
The Kirthar National Park is situated in the Kirthar Range Mountains in Karachi and Jamshoro District in Sindh, Pakistan. It was founded in 1974 and stretches over 3087 km², being the second largest National Park of Pakistan after Hingol National Park. The fauna comprises leopards, striped hyenas, wolves, ratels, urials, chinkara gazelles and rare Sind wild goats. Blackbuck antelopes are kept in enclosures for a reintroduction project at Kirthar National Park. However, most large predators have been extirpated. The last leopard was shot in 1977. Khirthar National Park qualifies strict criteria of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) and is the largest (308733 hectares) and first of Pakistan’s national parks to be included in the 1975 United Nation’s list of National Parks and Equivalent Reserves. It has amazing secrets and surprises in store for scientists and naturalists, who shall find here an exciting field of study and research.
The park is accessible by jeep able tracks. Two rest houses of Sindh Wildlife Department are also exists there for tourists stay. Best time to visit the park is mid October to November and December to mid March. The park area is arid with mean annual precipitation of 150-200 mm. Most of the rainfall occurs during July and August. Temperature often remains extreme, exceeding 38O c during most of summer. There are two main climatic seasons; winter (Oct-Feb) and summer (Mar-Sept). There have been drought conditions in the park for the last five years from 1996 upto 2001 with no rains resulting in the extreme stresses on the wildlife.
This park was established in 1974. The area of the park is mainly Government wasteland. Before partition, this area was used as a hunting reserve of ‘Talpurs’ but after the creation of Pakistan the head of the Burfat tribe enjoyed the same privilege. In order to check habitat degradation, a Range Management Project was started in 1965 by Forest Department. In the same year, the park area lying in Karachi District was re-classified as Protected Forest. Most of the tract was declared a Game Reserve in 1970. The present park area was declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1972 under the provisions of Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1972 and in 1974 this Sanctuary was converted into Khirthar National Park.