PAKLINKS BANNER EXCHANGE
Taxila is one of the ancient sites in Pakistan, which represent the rich cultural heritage of the country. Lying in the Valley of Haro, the city is more than 2,000 years old as it had attracted the attention of the greatest conqueror, Alexander. It later saw the rise of Asoka, the famous Buddhist King It lies 20 miles west of Rawalpindi.
It is the site of the original city. The eyes of Kunala, the son of Ashoka, were taken out here and the ruins of a stupa mark the site of the tragedy. Alexander the great discussed philosophy here, having arrived from Pushkalavati.
From the 16th century BC onwards, the ancient city flourished for more than 1,000 years. The city witnessed the rise and fall of no less than seven different dynasties.
Taxila was well known for its universities in the early days. Its teachers were recognized as authorities on their subjects. The post Alexander period is not much known in history. The companions of Alexander, who had left a detailed account of the city, described it "as a large and wealthy city". In 321 BC Taxila was incorporated into the Mauriyan Empire. During the days of Asoka, the city rose to pre-eminence. A number of monasteries and 'stupas' were built.
The White Huns ruined the city in the fifth century AD the Chinese traveler, Huang Tsang who visited Taxila in the 7th century AD had recounted the details.
During the course of excavations in this green valley of River Haro, three distinctive city sites and a number of monasteries and stupas' have been discovered.
The first city site known as "Bhir Mound" flourished before the arrival of the Greeks. It is situated on a small plateau past Tamra Nala, a seasonal stream. The layout of the city is very haphazard. The streets are narrow and the plans of the houses are also irregular and built of rubble stone.
The Bactrean Greeks founded the second city of Taxila in the second century BC Its remains are located in the western spurs of the Hathial Ridge and are called Sirkap. It was enclosed by a stone build city wall about three and a half miles long. It is very well planned, the houses being grouped into square blocks and straight wide streets cutting each other at right angles. The third city site dates back to the early Kushan times. It is situated to the north east of Sirkap.
The Taxila museum displays the artifacts related to the daily life of the inhabitants of ancient Taxila and a useful contour model of the whole valley showing all the archaeological sites.
Indian Buddhist monastery is the best preserved of the monasteries. It stands on top of a hill with beautiful views of the valley. Built during the Kushan dynasty in 2nd century AD it is packed with elaborately decorated bases of votive stupas and stucco sculpture, many of which have lost their heads but are nevertheless beautiful and delicate. To one side of the stupa area is the monastery complete with its monk's cells, halls of assembly and refractory.
The Chir Pheasant is an ashy yellowish bird of variable size found in the Margalla hills of Islamabad.
The male bird being up to 4 ft in length, half comprising a graduated tail. Female being less than 3 feet in length of which tail makes about a foot. An adult pheasant weighs a little over 3 pounds.
During later years of last century this plain colored fine bird was abundant through out the Northwestern Himalayas. These birds, though enthusiastic wanderers always return to their place of origin, which is the main cause for their extinction as it makes them easy prey for hunters and hunting dogs.
Forty-three km from Islamabad, G.T. Road crosses a new bridge over a small stream. Take a small road to the left just before the bridge for the "Moghul Garden at Wah." A pale reflection of Shalamar Gardens in Lahore or in Srinagar, it is still a pleasant place to visit although unkept and almost in ruins with ready remains of a pool and ravines of two pavilions and a bath house with its hot water plumbing ex' posed to view. An avenue of apple trees lines a dry stream bed and superb plane trees where parrakeets gather; the stream is clear, inhabited with small crabs for fishing
Just before Hassan Abdal lies a beautiful spring-fed valley of Wah. It is said that Emperor Jahangir stayed here once on his way to Kashmir and was so delighted with bubbling streams that he exclaimed 'Wah' that is where it got its name. Hassan Abbal's running waters and spring, have always helped it stay as a cultural nucleus in a populous region. There is no doubt about the antiquity of Hassan Abdal, because the Buddhist remains of Gandhara period lie right within the town.
It is also very popular by the presence of famous Sikh Gurdwara "Panja Sahib" which bears the hand impression of the Founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak. Another thing, which helped in its popularity, is a mosque where a famous Saint Baba Wali Kandhari is said to have fasted for forty days and the shrine of the Baba is at a little distance east of the town, perched on top of the rugged hill.
Close to Panja Sahib there are the two Mughal monuments. Tombs-with typical land scalping of the period. Built by the side of tank is the tomb, Maqbra Hakiman which has its link with the period of Mughal Emperor Akbar the great, and the other one is situated within a formal 'charbagh - style' garden with enclosure wall.
The Maqbra Hakiman or the tomb of hakims (physicians/ wisemen) occupies the eastern portion of a large platform (suffa) measuring 38.5 meters by 20.7 meters. To the western side of the platform is a tank measuring 13.7 meters in length and 13.1 meters in width. Stone footsteps, from eastern as well as western side, lead down to the water level in the tank. The water oozes from its beds but, no clue is yet available as to where it drains out. It always keeps a uniform level. You can find a number of Mahasheer (a kind of fish) also present in the tank, which has been feeding here, in undisturbed peace throughout the ages.
Khwaja Shamsuddin Khawafi, a superintendent of construction in the times of Mughal Emperor Akber built this tomb while he was given charge to construct Attock Fort. Built with small sized bricks, which are covered with lime-plaster, the tomb is square in shape with each side measuring about 11 meters. The outer roof is flat while the inner is in the shape of a dome. Fresco paintings are used for the decoration. The plaster from most of the places is broken leaving Mughal bricks naked. Other tomb was also built by Khwaja for himself, as he wished to be buried here after his death.
Khwaja died in Lahore in 1599/1600, while he was a subedar of the Lahore province, and was buried there. However, Hakim Abdul Gilani and later his brother Hakim Himan Gilani died and were buried during Khwaja's life in this tomb, under the orders of the Emperor Akber.For a long time this building was known as 'Mahal'. A British historian, Mr. Elliot has wrongly mentioned it as the 'summer house' mixing it with Panja Sahib.
Although the tomb has a sound structure, yet shows clear sign of ill treatment it met during the Sikh regime. During this period the graves inside the tomb were razed to the ground and the building was used as an office or secretariat of Hari Singh Nalwa. In 1923, this building was declared as a protected monument and the Department of Archaeology (then Archaeological Survey of India took proper maintenance measures).