Thatta

The historic town of Thatta is situated at a distance of 100km (60 miles) from Karachi, the financial capital of Pakistan. Population is about 22000. The biggest lake of Pakistan known as the Keenjhar Lake is also present in it's proximity. People from all over Pakistan come here to see the monuments and tombs present here. A number of these monuments are on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

The history of Thatta dates back to the 14 century when it was the capital of Lower Sindh region. Later on during the reign of Soomro tribe, Thatta was made the capital of whole of Sindh. From 1592 to 1739 it remained under the Moughal throne. Then in 1739 Nadir Shah, the reckless ruler of Persia, occupied it. Following are some remarkable places of this city:

Shah Jehan Mosque:

Moughal empror Shah Jehan, also known as the builder king due to his architectural intellect, built this mosque in 1674. The mosque has been built with red bricks and blue colored glazed tiles. It has 33 arches, 100 domes and no minaret. It is regarded as the largest mosque in the world with such number of domes and has been built in such a manner that sound of Imam can be heard in every corner of the mosque without any loud speakers. On the whole the mosque, with it's combination of red and blue, looks like an enormous Mosaic!

Makkli Hills:

Makkli is a burial place covering an area of 8km diameter. It started from the shrine of fourteenth-century Sufi, Hamad Jamali. Gradually the cemetery grew around the shrine and it became one of the largest necropolises in the world with the graves of some 125,000 Sufi saints. Imperial mausoleums are also present in the cemetery which are divided into two major groups, those from the Samma (1352–1520) and Tarkhan (1556–1592) periods. The tomb of the Samma king, Jam Nizamuddin II (reigned 1461–1509), is an impressive square structure built of sandstone and decorated with floral and geometric medallions. Similar to this is the mausoleum of Isa Khan Tarkhan II (d. 1651), a two-story stone building with majestic cupolas and balconies. In contrast to the syncretic architecture of these two monuments, which integrate Hindu and Islamic motifs, are mausoleums that clearly show the Central Asian roots of the later dynasty. An example is the tomb of Jan Beg Tarkhan (d. 1600), a typical octagonal brick structure whose dome is covered in blue and turquoise glazed tiles.

Tomb of Prince Ibrahim Bin Mirza

Islamabad

Islamabad is the capital and one of the most beautiful and modern cities of Pakistan. It is the tenth largest city of Pakistan with respect to area while in terms of population it is third largest. It is located in the Potohar Plateau in the north of the country. It was built in 1960s during the reign of Ayub Khan. Before Islamabad, Karachi was the capital of Pakistan. It is also regarded as one of the most well planned cities of South Asia and has been ranked as a Gamma World City, as of 2008.

This area was first inhabited by the Aryan community. It was present at one end of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization about 5000 years ago. Also, the armies of Alexander and Genghis Khan passed through this region. In the recent past a small town known as Saidpur was present here.

There were a number of reasons due to which capital was shifted from Karachi to Islamabad. Firstly Karachi was vulnerable to attacks from the sea whereas Islamabad is situated 750 miles inland. Secondly such a capital equally distant from all the major parts of the country was required. Other reasons include a better climate and its nearness to GHQ Rawalpindi.

Famous tourist attractions of the city include Shakar Parian Hills, newly constructed National Monument, the fascinating Heritage Museum, and the huge marble Shah Faisal Mosque, a unique example of modernist Islamic architecture, are the major highlights of the city. Faisal Mosque was constructed on the suggestion of King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz. With the area of over 5000 square meters and a capacity of over 300,000 worshipers, it is the biggest mosque in Pakistan and one of the biggest in the world. The newly constructed Lake View Park alongside Rawal Lake has become a favorite picnic spot in the city. The model village of Saidpur is also worth seeing. In short the city is a fascinating tourist attraction.

Faisal Mosque