178. Gurdwara Singh Sabha & A Temple in Chak Jhumra!
God knows what I was doing in Chak Jhumra on that summer day on July 13, 2017, and how I happened to discover this gurdwara. Now, after eight long years, I cannot recall at all. Later on, I completely forgot about it and even lost its pictures somewhere in the digital space of my computer….
177. The Attock Tomb
While traveling on the Grand Trunk Road from Rawalpindi to Peshawar, a square-shaped building at Attock Khurd immediately captures one’s attention. The structure is quite large, and its close proximity to the road makes it especially conspicuous. It is located at 33°53’53.00″N, 72°15’10.23″E, about one and a half km before the Indus River. It is interesting…
176. Two Historic Mosques at Attock Khurd (Mallah Tola).
The Grand Trunk Road, stretching from Kabul to Sonargaon (or Kolkata), is the most important road in India and one of the most famous in the world. It extends for almost 2,500 km across the great Indo-Gangetic plain. It first emerged as the main artery of the Mauryan Empire during the reign of Chandragupta (320–298…
175. Baoli of Mir Aslam Khan Khattak
I was vaguely aware of the existence of a Baoli (a stepwell) along the GT Road somewhere around Jehangira for a long time. Gradually, the picture became clearer, and I found its location on Google Earth and marked it on the map for my visit. The chance to visit it came on July 30, 2025….
174. Tomb of Khair un Nissa (Rohtas)
Rohtas, in District Jhelum, is a historic place famous for its magnificent fort built by Sher Shah Suri. Besides this huge fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has many other historic buildings, such as Gurdwara Choa Sahib, among others. 042. Rohtas Fort 44. Rohtas: Gurdwara Choa Sahib & Gurdwara Mata Kaur ji I visited…
173. Pakistan Army Museum: Rawalpindi!
Rawalpindi is located on the northern edge of Punjab, near the Margalla Hills. It was once part of the famous Gandhara civilization. The renowned city of this civilization, Taxila, lies just 20 km northwest of Rawalpindi. In more recent history, this area served as a stronghold of the warrior tribe known as the Gakhars. Their…
172. Chaudhry Saee Muhammad Gondal: The Man Who Voted for Pakistan!
I never expected to meet such a man in my life; honestly, I had never even imagined such an encounter. But life is full of surprises, and that’s exactly what I experienced when I met a very old, amiable gentleman in Kaluwal (32°32’29.21″N, 73°14’48.31″E), a village near Malakwal in the district of Mandi Bahauddin. This…
171. Shah Allah Ditta Caves & a Baoli – Islamabad!
Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, is a relatively new city, but the area itself has a history stretching back thousands of years. The earliest known civilization of this region was the Gandhara civilization, whose main city, Taxila, lies not far from Islamabad—today almost on the outskirts of this rapidly expanding city. Taxila is famous…
170. Monuments of the Gandhara Civilization at Taxila – 08 (Bhamala Stupa)
The world-famous Gandhara Civilization is represented by many monuments, stupas and monasteries around Taxila. Details about sites such as the Taxila Museum, Dharmarajika, Mohra Moradu, Pipplan, Jaulian, Jinnan Wali Dheri, Jandial Temple, and Giri Fort can be found in my earlier posts on this blog. Therefore, I shall not repeat the background of the Gandhara…
169. Timur Shah & Zaman Shah’s Invasions of Punjab (1774 – 1799)
Ahmad Shah Abdali, the founder of the modern Afghan state, died in 1772. During his reign of 25 years, he invaded Punjab and North India 10 times. He annexed Punjab up to Sirhind and conquered Kashmir. Sindh also acknowledged his suzerainty and paid tribute. However, his control over Punjab was precarious, and he could not…