In February of 2001, we flew via Dubai to Pakistan, where we visited Karachi, Sehwan Sharif, Multan and Lahore. During our trip we were met with goodwill, hospitality and friendship everywhere. I had lived in Lahore for about a year back around 1971, and I've passed through the country a couple of times since on the way to, or back from, India and Nepal. Still, nearly twenty years had passed since I was there last, and I felt it was time to pay another visit. Xhelal, who accompanied me, had never before been to Pakistan, but had accompanied me twice to neighbouring India.
		The idea for this website arose while I was wandering through the textile bazaar of Multan, a huge maze of incountable passages and alleys, partly covered by tattered awnings, hidden within the walls of the old city and entered by way of one of six big gates. I had stopped to buy a snack from a street vendor, some delicious spicy cakes with fresh herbs in a yoghurt sauce. When I wanted to pay, the owner of the stall refused laughingly, giving me to understand that, being a good Muslim, he wouldn't even think of accepting money from a visitor, a guest.
		It was neither the first nor the last time we encountered this attitude on our trip, and we never stopped to marvel at the dignity and generosity of a people rather poor in material wealth, but evidently very rich of heart. This site is my way of saying "THANK YOU" for all the kindness we were treated with during the three weeks of our visit to Pakistan.
		And it is a welcome opportunity for me to share my stories and pictures with whoever is interested to know more about a country virtually untouched by commercial tourism, except for some trekking up North and a few groups of culture tourists.
		The places we visited are highlighted and marked by a pink spot on the map. The font size bears no relation to the actual size of the localities. While Karachi, Multan and Lahore are big cities with millions of inhabitants, Sehwan Sharif is just a sleepy small place. You can enter the pages of those four locations directly through the pink spots, or through the menue on the left. Hyderabad has no entrance of its own.
		Two days after arriving in Karachi, we went to Sehwan Sharif by bus, via Hyderabad. To continue to Multan from there we had to get the bus back to Hyderabad, and take a train next day. From Multan to Lahore we took another bus, and from Lahore back to Karachi we decided to go by air, as otherwise we couldn't have attended Thursday night's Dhamal at the Shrine of Baba Shah Jamal in Lahore.
		To visit Sehwan Sharif was actually the main objective of our journey. As mentioned above, at the beginning of the seventies I had lived in Lahore for a while. Just to clarify things, at that time I was travelling with my (now) ex-husband, of whom the less is told, the better. We were dirt poor, and on our way to India. In Lahore we often used to spent afternoons and evenings at a holy place, the shrine of Baba Hazrat Shah Jamal, were we became friends with the sufi and malang people who stayed there. As it was, the Pir (kind of a head mystic) of that place, Baba Berkat Ali Sain, took a liking to us and he introduced us to the philosophy of the Pakistani mystics. Many times he advised us to visit the shrine of the first among Pakistani mystics, the great mystic poet, saint and scholar Lal Shahbaz qalander at Sehwan Sharif. Now, 30 years later, I felt that it was about time and so we got on our way. The "we" of this trip refers to my partner Xhelal and myself.
		From Sehwan Sharif we went, again via Hyderabad, north to the Punjab, to Multan, where I, Xhelal in tow, spent every day in the fascinating old bazaar and at tailor shops.
		A special about the bazaar of Multan can be entered right below, or from the Multan section.
		After more than a week in Multan we had to leave, time was running out and there was another important place on our intinerary: Lahore.
		In Lahore I wanted to pay a visit to the tomb of Baba Berkat Ali Sain.
		Back in the early seventies, about a year after leaving Pakistan, having seen India, Sri Lanka and Nepal in the meantime, we had returned to Lahore. Our first objective was to see Baba Berkat Ali Sain, we were looking forward to enjoy his presence and to present him with a set of Chinese teacups. But alas, our friend had died while we'd been away, and there was only his tomb to visit. The tomb itself at that time was not much to look at, just some concrete slabs covered with a piece of green cloth and decorated with a few strings of wilted flowers. Now, some thirty years later, we found that it had grown into a pretty little shrine of its own. To see a picture of Baba Berkat Ali Sain and his tomb, enter below or enter later from the Lahore section.
		In Hyderabad, the fifth place marked on the map, we only spent one afternoon and a night, so there will not be any pages about it, just a few pics from the railway station, which I added to the Karachi section. I'm sure it would have been interesting to spend a few days there too, but as our journey was limited to three weeks, it just wasn't possible. The impression we left with was of a pleasant enough town.
		Food in Pakistan is simple but very tasty. We usually ate in small eating places, where we had pilaws, biryanis (rich rice dishes both) or freshly baked rotis (unleavend flat bread) with vegetables, lentils, meat and raita (a mildly spiced yoghurt sauce). No day passed without us enjoying some fresh fruit juice, mainly tangerine or orange.
		Since Sept.11 2002, Pakistan has become a focus of international attention with a lot of very negative media coverage. In Pakistan, as in any Islamic country, the rules differ considerably from those in Western countries. To avoid misunderstandings and embarassment, it is adviseable to get familiar with a few basic Islamic customs. Some general information on dos and don'ts when travelling in Islamic countries can be found through the link below.
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		(Presently the feedback section is not activated, due to a huge spam problem. I'll manually add to the guest book any comments sent to me via e-mail to: info@gulabmahal.com ).