Postcards from Pakistan

Gaynor Shaw 4/19/21 Gaynor Shaw 4/19/21

Postcard from Multan’s Walled City and Historic Gates

Multan was once a fortified city with a wall and six gates. What remains of the wall is now in the inner part of the city centre. Entrance to the walled city was by six, imposing gates: Lohari; Bohar; Pak; Dehli; Haram and Dolat. Only three gates remain: Dehli; Bohar and Haram. The original wall and gates were built in 1756 however during the British siege of Multan in 1849 much was destroyed. The British rebuilt the Dehli Gate and some restoration work on the other gates has occurred.

The remaining gates all have interesting histories. The Dehli Gate was the gate that Mughal kings would enter the city. The gate faces Dehli, India. Bohar Gate faced the Ravi River that had Bohar trees along its banks. Food and supplies would be brought along the river and enter the city via this gate. The river has now changed course. Haram Gate was next to the women’s quarter, or harem, of Saint Musa Pak Shaheed.

Shops and people crowd up against the remaining parts of the wall and gates. Inside the walled city are narrow streets with some wooden houses with intricately carved doors, windows and balconies. There was no time on this trip to explore the old town, yet another reason to return.

Gaynor Shaw 4/18/21 Gaynor Shaw 4/18/21

Multani Kaashigari

After travelling to many parts of Multan, Bahawalpur and the Cholistan Desert and seeing the beautiful Multani blue and white glazed tiles I was interested in learning more about this art. The blue and white pottery is known locally as Kaashigari.

The word Kaashigari is thought to have come from either Kashan in Persia or Kashgar in China. There are certainly Persian influences in the designs and Chinese influences in the predominant use of blue and white. The art form has developed with unique Multan designs and overtime the number of colours used has increased to include bright red, yellow and orange.

Kaashigari used to combine both red and white clay from local riverbeds however water pollution has meant a change to using just white clay from different parts of Pakistan. Added to the clay is feldspar and quartz. Kilns have replaced wood and dung fires.

We visited both the TEVTA (Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority) Institute of Blue Pottery Development, a government run institute, and the Ustad Alam Institute of Blue Pottery. The TEVTA Institute runs a 6 month course and trains around 40 students a year. The TEVTA institute trains both men and women, women mainly working from home. We were also given a tour of the Ustad Alam Institute of Blue Pottery. The Institute is run by Ustad Muhammad Alam, an acclaimed Pakistani artist who has won numerous awards.

It was fascinating to see the process from start to finish. The mixing of the clay, clay being poured into moulds, the hand painting through to glazing and firing. At both institutes I was able to watch the artists painting directly on to the pots with no outline or pattern to follow. The rooms were quiet, light coming through side windows, their brushes moving quickly, no mistakes made.

And yes, I bought a lot of pottery to bring home with me…….

Long wooden shelves with iItems waiting to be painted

After the item comes out of the mould the excess clay is trimmed away

Gaynor Shaw 4/8/21 Gaynor Shaw 4/8/21

Postcard from Shah Shams Sabzwari Shrine - a saint, a shrine, a story

We visited Multan in March as the weather was good for travelling, it was considered mild with most days in the low 30 degrees Celsius. Multan experiences some of the most extreme temperatures in the country with very cold winters and long, scorching summers. As Multan sits close to the Cholistan Desert the city also experiences many dust storms. The average temperature in summer sits in the mid 40’s but it has reached into the mid 50’s.

The air had cleared the day we visited the Shah Shams Sabzwari Shrine to reveal a light blue sky with white clouds. The shrine was the least well looked after shrine we visited in Multan. Built in 1329, extensively damaged by fire in 1770 and rebuilt in 1779. It once sat by the side of the Ravi River, but the river has now moved. I am now beginning to recognise the Multani style of architecture for shrines – a square base, topped by an octagonal level, minarets on each corner, finished with a dome, this time the dome was green not white. There were, of course, lots of beautiful Multani glazed tiles. Across the courtyard from the shrine sits a white mosque. Inside and outside of the shrine it is busy with people and stalls selling religious items, souvenirs and traditional Multani wood blocked print cloth.

When I was doing some background reading for this blog, I found a wonderful website called Oriental Architecture (link below). As well as the usual information on building dates and dimensions I came across the most wonderful story about Shah Shams Sabzwari and Bahauddin Zakariya (see my previous blog on his shrine).

The story goes that when Shams arrived Zakariya was not happy as he didn’t like yet another saint arriving in his city. Zakariya sent Shams a cup filled to the top with milk. A not too subtle way of saying the city is full of saints. Shams sent the full cup back with a rose petal on the top as a way of saying his presence wouldn’t disturb Zakariya.

Zakariya wasn’t happy about the cup being returned so ordered the city merchants not to sell anything to Shams. Shams took pity on his disciples who were hungry and caught a pigeon for them to eat (you will have seen from my other blogs how important pigeons are in the city and that there are so many of them). But no merchant would agree to cook the pigeon. Shams took the pigeon and asked the sun to come closer and cook the bird. The sun came closer, the bird was cooked. The sun never moved back to its original position and this explains why Multan is so very hot.

I want to return to Multan to seek out more of its wonderful treasures, but I won’t return in the summer!

https://orientalarchitecture.com/sid/1321/pakistan/multan/shah-shams-sabzwari-tomb

Entrance to the courtyard surrounding the shrine

Gaynor Shaw 4/6/21 Gaynor Shaw 4/6/21

Postcard from Bahauddin Zakariya Shrine, Multan

We didn’t have to travel far from the shrine of Shah Rukn-e-Alam to get to our next shrine, the shrine of his grandfather, Bahauddin Zakariya. His full name was Sheikh Kabir Sheikhul Salam Bahauddin Zakariya Al-Asadi-Al Hashmi.

Bahauddin Zakariya was born in 1170AD and died in 1262AD. The shrine was built before his death and he paid for the building himself, unusual for the time. Bahauddin Zakariya founded the Suhrawardiyya order of Sufism. This particular branch of Sufism favoured close contacts with society, established trade schools and renounced austerity.

His tomb is definitely not austere. The base is a square, on top of this is an octagon, topped by a white dome with white minarets. The tomb is decorated with the traditional Multani blue and white glazed tiles, detailed woodwork, and Arabic inscriptions.

Bahauddin Zakariya has been reported to have said ‘Our Multan is comparable to Paradise – tread slowly, the angels are paying obeisance here’. You certainly feel awe as you walk around the tomb and you should definitely tread slowly around Multan, an amazing city.

The first time I’ve seen a pillar covered in Multani blue and white glazed tiles

Remains of Multani tiles on the outside of the shrine

We stopped and listened to a man singing and playing an harmonium

Normally the entrance would be filled with people but they were kept waiting as we visited the shrine

Gaynor Shaw 3/29/21 Gaynor Shaw 3/29/21

Postcard from Shah Rukn-e-Alam (Pillar of the World) Shrine, Multan

As I rounded the corner from the bazaar the tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam came into view on top of the mound of an old fort. I can see why it is listed as a possible UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an imposing three-tiered structure, surrounded by a large courtyard. The first section is an octagon with round towers at each corner, this is topped by another octagon with white tomes, topped by a 15-meter diameter white dome. The building was thoughtfully restored in the 1970’s and uses a mix of red bricks, traditional Multani glazed tiles, and shisham wood.

The tomb was built between 1320 and 1324 by Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq and was thought to have been built for his family. However, the tomb was gifted to the family of Rukn-e-Alam and his remains were moved to the shrine in 1330.

During the Tughluq period Islam spread through the region by large numbers of Sufi teachers. By the early 12th century Multan was regarded as a centre of Sufi learning. Shah Rukn-e-Alam (Pillar of the World) was a Sufi saint. He came from a long line of saints, his grandfather was Bahauddin Zakariya, I will write another blog about Bahauddin Zakariya and his shrine that is situated very close to this one. The Pakistan Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, is the current custodian of the tomb.

Shah Rukn-e-Alam is still revered today and annually over 100,000 pilgrims from all over South Asia visit the shrine. I can now add myself to that number.

Shah Rukn-e-Alam Shrine seen from the bazaar

Traditional Multani blue and white glazed tiles

Rose petals for sale outside to scatter over the tomb

Tomb surrounded by 72 graves of his family

View of the Shrine from the top of the Multan Museum

Gaynor Shaw 3/26/21 Gaynor Shaw 3/26/21

Postcard from Shah Yousaf Gardezi Shrine, Multan

We parked the cars next to an alley, at the end there was a wall made of rough red bricks. We walked through a modest gateway and found ourselves in Shah Yousaf Gardezi Shrine’s courtyard, outside was noisy and busy while inside was a world of quiet and prayer.

In the centre is a square, flat roofed tomb. The outside is covered in Multan’s famous blue and white glazed tiles, while inside is covered in mirrorwork, known as aina-kari. Small, finely cut mirrors are arranged in geometric and/or flowers and plants. Aina-kari is supposed to have begun in Iran however some say that Venetian artists brought the art form to Iran.

Shah Yousaf Gardezi arrived in Multan from Afghanistan around 900 years ago. The story is that he arrived riding a lion and holding a live snake with pigeons flying overhead. Gardezi is said to have brought the Twelver Branch of Shia Islam to the city. Shah Yousaf Gardezi died in 1136 and his tomb is recorded as having been originally built in 1152, rebuilt in 1548.

As we walked around the shrine the evening call to prayer started. Pigeons took off in flight around the tomb and settled in and around the tomb. I think Shah Yousaf Gardezi would be pleased that the pigeons are still there.

I like to imagine when this tree was planted and how many people have walked past and sat underneath

Fresh rose petals scattered over a grave

Gaynor Shaw 3/22/21 Gaynor Shaw 3/22/21

Life in Multan - Sohan Halwa

While I was enjoying just wandering around Hussain Agahi Bazaar taking photos I was also on the lookout for a special shop – Hafiz Ka Multani Sohan Halwa. This is a family run store that has been making halwa for over 80 years. In 1930 Hafiz Ahmed Din taught the Quran and made halwa for his students. Others soon started asking for the sweets and so a business was started. It is still a family run store with award winning sweets that are highly sought after.

Of course, I bought some halwa and patiently waited, unlike like me, until I got home to try some. So delicious! The sweets come in bright tins that are beautiful too. Now I realise that you might not be able to travel to Pakistan, let alone get to Multan. It would be a little mean of me to talk about a delicious sweet that you might never get to taste. So, I have included a recipe for halwa. Unfortunately, this is not the award winning recipe from Hafiz Ka Multani but still very delicious. Enjoy with a cup of chai (see my other blog – Life in Lahore – Chai - for that recipe too).

Sohan Halwa Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup cornflour

1 cup almonds

½ cup pistachios

1 tbsp lemon juice

3 cups sugar

½ cup milk

8 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp ground cardamom

Method

1. Blanch nuts in hot water for 5 minutes, drain, peel, and slice finely.

2. Dissolve sugar in 2 cups of water and boil for 5 minutes. Add milk and boil for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through a muslin cloth.

3. Dissolve cornflour in 2 cups of water and add to sugar/milk mixture.

4. Cook on medium heat until it forms one lump, add lemon juice.

5. As the mixture starts to stick to the bottom of the saucepan stir in small amounts of ghee.

6. When all the ghee has been added stir in the ground cardamom and two thirds of the nuts.

7. Press the mixture into a greased tin and decorate with remaining nuts.

8. Cool in fridge.

9. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Happy to have found the store in the bazaar and to meet the helpful, friendly people that work there.

Lots of tins to choose from or you can buy by the slice.

Beautifully presented tins of sohan halwa

Multani sohan halwa on traditional Multani blue and white pottery.

Gaynor Shaw 3/11/21 Gaynor Shaw 3/11/21

Postcard from Hussain Agahi Bazaar, Multan

As a photographer there is no better place to visit than a bazaar. Bazaars in Pakistan are crowded, noisy, and full of interesting people, food and things. The Hussain Agahi Bazaar in Multan is no exception.

The bazaar is named after the saint Hazrat Syed Hussain Shah Bukhari, shortened to Hussain Agahi. The story is that the saint was an astute businessman and that he helped many others and all their businesses did well. So, what better name to give the bazaar than a saint with business acumen!

I entered the bazaar at the Hussain Agahi Chowk (crossroads) and the very first store I saw sold wedding decorations. The shop sells fresh flower garlands through to mirrored centrepieces, all in bright, vibrant colours. There are stores selling gold, fabric and kitchenwares. I enjoyed watching food being prepared, the smell of frying samosas, chicken skewers being cooked over a small charcoal bbq and sweet cakes being carried around the bazaar. I was also on the hunt for the Multan speciality of sohan halwa but this will be the subject of another blog.

Walking through the bazaar was a little perilous at times with motorbikes zipping past groups of shoppers. Every time I thought there was going to be an accident the bike managed to weave past at the last second without incident.

From food to fashion, teddy bears to tailors, the Hussain Agahi Bazaar is a must see in Multan.

Gaynor Shaw 3/10/21 Gaynor Shaw 3/10/21

Life in Multan - Cotton

While in Multan we visited the Roomi spinning and weaving factory. The factory has received funding from Australia in the past under the ‘Better Cotton Initiative’. We were able to see the process from receiving cotton bales through to packaging of towels and sheets. It was fascinating to see the work that needs to be done by hand and what can be done by machine.

Pakistan used to be the fourth largest grower of cotton and the largest exporter of cotton yarn. However, cotton production in Pakistan is decreasing, in the last year production has dropped by 24%. The main reason for the decline is attributed to poor cotton seeds that are not resistant to pests and diseases. Cotton is of vital importance as textile manufacturing is the largest manufacturing industry in Pakistan.

Postcards from Pakistan

Gaynor Shaw Photography