At a height
of ~8,000 feet, Ziarat might be the only place in the Southern Pakistan which
can be called a hill station. Although it might not be as lush as those in the
Central and Upper parts of the country – for instance Galiyat, Kaghan Valley,
Swat, etc – however, it still deserves an outing due to its distinctive Juniper
forests, orchards, colonial history, and healing characteristics.
Here are a
couple of things which one should not miss while visiting the cool hill
station:
Quaid-e-Azam Residency
 |
| Quaid-e-Azam Residency Ziarat |
Ziarat
Residency, where the Founding Father – or Quaid-e-Azam – Muhammad Ali Jinnah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_Jinnah
spent last few days of his life, upon doctors’ advice, fighting the lung cancer
is the most characteristic structure of the hill station. The aesthetically
designed wooden building does not only possess architectural significance but
it is also a remnant of the golden days of the British Empire looking over their
rebellious northwestern frontiers towards Afghanistan and beyond.
Now the charismatic
19the century Residency is a national monument and is maintained accordingly.
Reaching the
monument from Ziarat bazaar is no big deal; take the upward artery from
Shalimar Hotel, or from other any other gulley, walk uphill for around 15
minutes and you will be there. The place is so obvious that losing the way is difficult;
however, one can take the assistance of passersby if confused. As you move
upward, views of the surrounding valleys will become clearer making the trail-cum-road
more refreshing.
The place
opens daily from 9 to 5 with lunch break and except for Wednesdays.
Unfortunately, we got to know the Wednesday thing only after I lifted Mikael’s
buggy all the way upstairs – with the little one inside as he was sleeping –
that we are there on the bad day! However, staff was courteous and opened that
for us. After all we traveled all the way from Karachi to see Quaid’s memorial.
By the way, no one was there except for us and those guards, which I believe
would be the case even if we would have visited on a legitimate day.
Gardens
around the Residency are the best maintained in the whole Ziarat and provided
us with a good opportunity to enjoy our little picnic with Misha running and
jumping around freely. Yellow leaves were dancing down from trees, with every passing
breeze, announcing the autumn coming!
Sunshine was
just perfect for the due warmth – in the otherwise cold town – and the Vitamin
D intake was a bonus. Air was as fresh as it could be and an opportunity for us
to breath deep to purify our polluted Karachite lungs! Skies were so clear and
so blue that we could see the moon – right around noon – inevitably! The whole
arena was engulfed into a deep silence which could only be broken by the slow
winds and autumn leaves.
 |
| When we reached there, the Residency was closed |
 |
| Because it was Wednesday! |
 |
| However, the staff opened that for us |
 |
| Misha found a big park to run freely and collect autumn leaves |
 |
| An Autumn Leave |
 |
| 07 Tree turned yellow.jpg |
 |
| Can you spot the moon? |
 |
| A motorcycle with special facilities |
It was the
phone call of Abdus Samad Dotani – a gentleman and a local landlord – which
forced us to windup and come down to the bazaar to discuss when to visit his apple
farm.
Orchard
 |
| Bird Eyeview |
Surrounding
valleys of Ziarat produce premium quality cherries and apples of various
varieties which fetch handsome price in Punjab’s fruit markets. If one is coming
from Quetta, patches of orchards start appearing on both sides of the slanting road
half an hour ahead of the city center around Zandra and Kewas valleys. Cold and
dry weather plays an important role in making Ziarat apples juicier and more flavorsome.
Since
winters was in the offing, trees started changing colors; from greenish to red,
orange, and finally yellowish. It was a beautiful sight indeed.
We felt lucky
when invited by Abdus Samad Dotani to visit his family farms along with a sumptuous
luncheon, full of Pushtoon hospitality. Will you call it best of both worlds
when he told us that there were still a couple of trees loaded with apples! He
intentionally left them for his guests and friends.
We spent a
couple of hours in the farm where our host enlightened us about the local trends
regarding farming. He told us that some farmers are shifting to cherries and
other fruits from apples because of the low priced produce in the market coming
from the neighboring sanctioned-hit Iran.
While I was
sitting in his traditional ‘farshi’ guest
room, a delegate from a developmental NGO was there discussing the upliftment
prospects. Though people in the area are conservative and mostly support conservative
relegiopolitical parties, they also welcome genuine NGOs simultaneously. That
observation was contrary to my previous stereotyped thought. Abdus Samad also
told us that though ignored in the previous generation people are now aware of
the importance of female education and a majority of girls around his village
are now going to school.
At the end
of the day, he packed us a couple of cartons full of fresh apples for the home
also!
 |
| An apple farm from outside |
 |
| An apple farm from outside |
 |
| Last of the Trees with Apples |
 |
| Apples from Ziarat Attract Good Prices Because of Superior Quality |
 |
| A Couple of Isolated Apples |
 |
| Another One Hanging Alone |
 |
| Yet another one |
 |
| Varieties in the Farm |
 |
| It gets wasted too |
 |
| Quality Inspector. |
 |
| Do apples grow on bushes? |
 |
| A bunch of colorful ones |
 |
| A row of apple trees |
 |
| Farsh with handwoven carpet |
 |
| Meeting with NGO |
 |
| Juniper - the pride of Ziarat |
Tourist
Traps
Apart from
the above two, most of the other attractions marketed by touts, e.g. natural
spring, khewari baba, etc, are no less than a tourist trap and a source
of earning for local drivers, in my opinion.
Quaid-e-Azam actually died of pulmonary or lung tuberculosis (TB) rather Lung cancer, although he showed some signs of cancer too but his long illness was due to tuberculosis and eventually it became the cause of death.
ReplyDeletenice Muzzamil...liked your dress
ReplyDeletehaha! this is 'feeran' a traditional upper worn in cold Kashmir. It is so warm that I could never use it in Karachi so the trip gave me the opportunity to bring it out from the long unutilzied inventory!!
Deletegreat job! shabash beta
ReplyDelete