An air flight of Life time experience 2015

All photos are owned

All label done by self

date of flight 24th July, 2015

I am Civil Engineer by Profession and trekking is my hobby from very young age. Pakistan is situated in terrain where great ‘Himalayas’, ‘Karakorum’ and Hindukush ranges meet. Pakistan has more than a hundred peaks that are above 7,000 meters. Out of the world's 14 highest peaks, four are in Pakistan.

Trekking of Concordia and K2 Base camp considered as a dream of every trekker of the world. In 2015, doing that trek was my biggest dream as well. This trek requires minimum of eighteen days.

However, the biggest hurdle in fulfilling that dream was my job. I worked at that time in private construction sector and getting eighteen days leave from job is somewhat impossible.

Well denying all these equation of impossibilities, I gave resignation from my job and left for K2 base camp trek on 24^th July, 2015. For K2 base camp one has to reach Skardu first.  I decided to take air flight from Islamabad to reach Skardu. That was a 45 minute flight. I did not have any idea that flight going to be most amazing and best fights of my life along the Karakorum’s. The thrill of viewing some of the world’s tallest mountain peaks, along with some of the picturesque valleys, dales, lakes and glaciers from the comfort of your aero plane seat is a novel, and at the same time a highly stimulating experience, the memory of which lingers long after the flight is over.

Soon after takeoff from Islamabad, the plane flies directly over the enchanting Northern Areas of Pakistan. I am blessed to  see Saifulmalook, Naran, Lulosar Lake, Toshi Ri(Sarwali Peak) mighty Nanga Parbat, Laila Peak, Seiri Dorkush, Kampire e Dior, Rakaposhi, Batura I,II,III,IV,V,VI, Sang e Marmar, Passu Sar, Diran, Shispare Sar, Ultar sar, Miar Chhish, Shispare sar, Ultar sar, Lupghar sar, Momhil sar, Trivor sar, Malubiting, khunyang Chhish, Spantik, Haramosh, laila Peak, Mlangutti sar, Bularunsar, KCH E, Disteghal Sar, Yazghil sar, Kunyang Chhish, Pumari Chhish, Yukshin Garden sar, Yutmaru sar, Hisper Sar, Glotter Peak, Kanjut Sar, Kapaltang Kun, Gloster sar, Lukpe Lawa, Broad Tower, Baintha Brak, Latok, Crown Peak, Skamri Peak, Chongtar, skyang kangri, Biale, K2, Skil Brum, Muztagh Tower, Praqpa Ri, PayoPeak, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I,II,III,IV, Thyor, Summa Ri, Koser Gunge, Choricho, Marble Peak,Mango gusor,  Yermanendu, Masherbrum, Mandu Peak, Chogolisa all I see in one single flight. I was spell bound and that was the memory that I keep with myself rest of my life.

Also, I feel myself very lucky and consider it as a reward from Almighty.  

The majestic Nanga Parbat (8,125m), the beautiful Rakaposhi (7,788m) and above all, the spectacular K-2 (the second highest peak in the world) towering above all others at 8,611 meters, leaving you simply mesmerized.

I also took photograph of all these great mountains and lakes from plane. The second and interesting part of my story was that, when I reached back to home it took me almost a year to exactly label these mountains with altitude on my photographs. I must mentions I followed various aerial photographs and surveys of great Karakorum for my reference. 

INDUS RIVER AT SKARDU

Also, besides providing some thrills and chills is, undoubtedly, a wonder that motivates you to a better understanding of the lure and charm that has seduced mountaineers to take on the perilous task of conquering these giants of nature, since time immemorial. A close visual, though intangible, contact with the manifestations of nature is a mystical experience that transcends one from the peripheral to the spiritual.

Anarkali's Tomb Lahore (2018)

Anarkali's Tomb Lahore 

Relevance: Historical Architecture 

Date of Visit:- 14.08.2018

(All pictures are owned, kindly respect copyrights)

Among the earliest extant Mughal tombs, Anarkali's sepulcher is also one of the most significant Mughal buildings of the period. The tomb, to the south of Lahore's Old City, is part of the compound of Punjab Secretariat on Lower Mall, and is located at the rear of Chief Secretary's Office. Since the tomb is utilized as the Punjab Archives, access to the building is restricted. Make sure that you plan a visit to it during office hours, otherwise you will find the gates to the secretariat locked and the sentry at the gate unwilling to allow even a peep.

Not only is it a "most ingeniously planned octagonal building", it is a memorial to the love legend centering around prince Salim (later emperor Jahangir), and Anarkali (pomegranate blossom) who belonged to the harem of Emperor Akbar, Salim's father. Although Mughal sources are silent about Anarkali, European contemporary travelers such as William Finch related the popular gossip rife at the time, mentioning her as Akbar's "most beloved wife."

Latif, quoting popular legend says that Sharf-un-Nisa or Nadira Begam, with the title of Anarkali, was found giving a return smile to the prince by the emperor in the mirrors of his palace. Suspecting an intrigue or worse, Akbar ordered Anarkali to be interred alive. Accordingly, she was placed in an upright position and buried alive in a masonry wall, brick by brick. The prince, who must have been devastated, on succeeding the throne in 1605, "had an immense superstructure raised over her sepulcher" 16 years after her death.

The tomb, once set off as the centerpiece of a beautifully laid out garden setting, is today hemmed in by the structures surrounding it. However, it is this tomb that gifted the name Anarkali to the whole area when the British first set up a cantonment here. The monument employs a popular format using an octagonal plan, its sides alternately measuring 44 feet and 30 feet. Architecturally, however, it is unique in its utilization of semi-octagonal towers dominating each corner, rising well above the walls and terminated with cupolas over pavilion-like kiosks. A low-pitched dome—among the earliest Mughal examples of double-dome—spans the central chamber and is carried on a drum or neck. The lower shell of the dome is constructed of small bricks in five stages or rings. The central dome is supported inside by eight arches 12 feet 3 inches thick. It is a masterpiece of solid masonry work of the early Mughal period.

Over the last couple of hundred years, the tomb has been put to several uses. In the first half of the 19th century, it served as the residence of Ranjit Singh's French general Jean Baptiste Ventura's Armenian wife. From 1847 it was used as offices for the clerical staff of the first British Resident, Henry Lawrence. From 1851 it was the venue for divine service, while in early 1857 it was consecrated as St. James' Church, later being declared a Pro-Cathedral.

The sarcophagus made of pure marble of extraordinary beauty and exquisite workmanship is, in view of 19th-century scholars, "one of the finest pieces of carving in the world." It was put away in one of the side bays when the building was first converted into a church. It was then placed in the spot from which the altar had been removed rather than being replaced in its original central position. In 1940 the grave was found intact in its original position, five feet below the present floor. From accounts of its discovery, the grave is apparently of plastered brickwork, inscribed on the top and sides with the ninety-nine attributes of God and below with a Persian couplet. The Persian couplet inscribed on the sarcophagus has been translated by Latif into English. "Ah! could I behold the face of my beloved once more, I would give thanks unto my God until the day of resurrection," and is signed "Majnoon Salim Akbar" or "The profoundly enamored Salim, son of Akbar" and expresses Jahangir's intense passion for the beautiful Anarkali. No doubt the two inscribed dates 1008 [1599] and 1024 [1615] refer to the date of Anarkali's death and the completion of the sepulcher respectively. Historians now believe the tomb to be that of Sahab-e-Jamal, one of the wives of Jahangir, who died in Lahore in 1599.

Today the monument appears as a simple, whitewashed massive brick structure, robbed of its decorative veneer, and its apertures and aiwan profiles filled in to serve its varied usage. However, the internal spaces, in spite of the alteration, are exciting, the viewing of which coupled with the amazing treasure of archival material of Punjab Archives—set up as Punjab Record Office in 1891, when the cathedral was shifted to its new premises—is wonderfully rewarding. For those interested in the history of British Punjab, it is a treasure trove, for, along with rare images and other documents, files dating back to the earliest days of British administration are carefully and meticulously maintained here.