Pakistani City of The Month- MULTAN

**Multan **

About 966 km from Karachi and more or less right in the centre of the country lies the ancient city of Multan. Multan, the ‘City of Pirs and Shrines’ is a prosperous city of bazaars, mosques, shrines and superbly designed tombs. It is also a city of dust, summer heat and beggars. It has a long history. Alexander the Great added it to his list of Indus conquests. In 641 AD Xuang Tzang found it ‘agreeable and prosperous’ - Mohammad Bin Qasim obviously agreed, he was the next to conqueror Multan in 712 AD. Mahmud of Ghazni invaded in 1006, Timurlane in 1398. In the 16th century it was the Moghuls turn, followed by the Sikhs in 1752 and the British in 1849. The old city has narrow colorful bazaars full of local handicrafts and narrow winding lanes. There are many places of historical, cultural and recreational interest in the city.

**The Multan Fort **
Multan fort was built on a mound separating it from the city and the old bed of river Ravi. The famous Qasim Bagh and a Stadium are located within the walls of the fort. A panoramic view of Multan city can be had from the highest point in the fort.

**Shrines **
The devastation of Khorasan and Western Iran was to the benefit of this part of Pakistan, for it led to the settling in this city of a large number of pious and learned men and noble families like Gardezi Syeds and Qureshis from Khawarizm, amongst whom Sheikh Bahauddin Zakaria is a famous saint. About the same time Pir Shams Tabrez from Sabzwar and Kazi Qutubuddin from Kashan came to Multan. Baba Farid Shakar Ganj settled in Pakpattan. Khawaja Qutubaddin Bakhatair Kaki passed through to Delhi and Syed Jalal, the spiritual leader of many family in Multan, Muzafargarh and Bahawalpur, came to Uch, Sultan Sakhi Sarwar’s father also emigrated from Bokhara to Sakot in Multan district. These venerable men contributed greatly to spreading Islam in this area. the saints and shrines of Multan have been attracting a large number of devotees all the year round.

The shrines of one of the foremost scholars of Islam, Shaikh Bahauddin Zakaria is located in the fort. The Mausoleum was built by the saint himself. It has a unique style of architecture of that period, the mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, the grandson of Shaikh Bahauddin Zakaria, is also located near the main gate of the Multan Fort. He was also a man of great religious and political influence. Besides its religious importance, the Mausoleum has a unique architectural value.
Its dome is considered to be the second largest in the world after “Gol Gumbad” of Bijapur, India. The mausoleum has very rich geometrical patterns, calligraphy and colorful floral, mosaic and glazed tile work. The mausoleum has recently been given the Agha Khan Award for the best Muslim Architecture. The shrine is visited by devotees all the year round. The shrine of Hazrat Shams Sabzwari is located near Aamkhas Garden.

Other shrines in Multan include that of Muhammad Yusuf Fardezi near Bohar Gate, Musa Pak. Shaheed inside the Pak. Gate, Total Mai near Haram Gate, Shah Ali Akbar, a descendant of Shah Shams Sabzwari, in Suramiani and Bab Sarfa near Eidgah

  • With four rare things Multan abounds Heat, Saints, dust and burial grounds.*

More on the city of saints from the PTDC site.

http://www.tourism.gov.pk/d_multan.html

[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Mursalin: *
* With four rare things Multan abounds Heat, Saints, dust and burial grounds.

[/QUOTE]
Garmi, Gard aur Gaur.. thats what its famous for.

I have been there a few times...and other than some great ice cream (it was a small khokha with home made ice-cream) there is pretty much nothing there, which will make me go back. Honestly.

But don't trust me on this. I had no family there, and only went there for a few days each for some official business in June and July (several years ago). The weather wasn't exactly inviting, either.

The area around Haram gate was a bit lively in the evening, but only for a short time, and for all the wrong reasons :-P

ps. By the way, when this City of the Month gets to Gujranwala, let me know. I have tried some amazing chiri and tikkas in that city.

sadly never been to multan except just the train we were on stopped at the station [hope to go one day inshallah] but gotta say multani chonsa aam [mango], is the best :yummy:

and also tere is a masjid in multan thats very famous, i dont know the name tho :frowning: they often show it on tv..its got blue and white tiles and a large tomb

also, MULTANI MATTI, is very good to wash ur face with…but i wonder how it got the name of multani matti? is it actually from multan?

also multani climate is very hot in summers and multani ppl r considered very hard working, humble n sweet… agreed, from my interaction with multanis, [except this one lady lol] everyone was very sweet…

saraiki, the language mostly spoken in this area is also a very sweet sounding language…

there is not too much in multan, but what makes it really special are the people; the food; and the language, saraikee. Multani folks are exceptionally hospitable, and open hearted, and sweet just the lingo and culture itself. The grilled food of multan is just great..

The suburbian villages and terrain is just lovely, and you can leave the city and retrieve in a nearby chak, or village, and spend time there..I think i never felt bored there cuz of family and friends, and that's the primary reason for being there. If you go to nearby places like DG Khan, or Bahawalnagar, there're really good hunting spots. I really like the area towards DG Khan, and onward into Baluchistan. It's very rugged.

A lot of local economy is driven by cotton and textile, and farming is mega business. The land is really fertile and yields one of highest output ratios of cotton in the world. Then there are the mangoes, and the way i look at it, they just represent everything there's to about multan, sweet, need hot climate, and fertile land...

It's an old regional hub, and there're huge army and airforce bases there. Cantt area is very neat, and good for shopping or eating out..and that's mah multan :)

anyone know of good hotels/motels in mutlan for just a month of stay?

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by irem: *

also, MULTANI MATTI, is very good to wash ur face with...but i wonder how it got the name of multani matti? is it actually from multan?

[/QUOTE]

That's right, I saw "Multani Matti" in the shop earlier, when I went shopping. :)

Multan makes one of the BEST halwas anywhere. Its called something like "Multan ka sohan halwa" .... zabardast cheez hai.

I read on thier site a couple of months back that they plan to start shipping it internationally. But thier site hasn't been updated for a long time, so don't know if they've started or if they ever will.

Faisal - what is "chiri"? Can you tell more about chiri and tikkas in Gujrawala. I might visit there this summer so would like to know more about it. Thanks.

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Rehan_Pk: *
anyone know of good hotels/motels in mutlan for just a month of stay?
[/QUOTE]
Multan has many hotels. The good ones include Serena and proly Shezan. Not sure if any new ones opened recently. There are many motels and cheap places to stay as well.

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by sky: *
Faisal - what is "chiri"? Can you tell more about chiri and tikkas in Gujrawala. I might visit there this summer so would like to know more about it. Thanks.
[/QUOTE]
Chiri is a bird, basically and they make tikkas of them - bar be que style. They taste different, and if done well, are quite tasty. Gujranwala is famous for these, but I guess you can find them pretty much in many places.

Lahoris are like that... they'd go to some distances just to eat. The reason folks from Lahore go to Gujranwala to eat tikkay and chiri is just to have an excuse to drive around. Gujranwala is about 1 hour away from Lahore. The other place Lahoris go is Kasur to eat Rabri. I know some shauqeen people from Lahore who took day trips to Bhurban just to have lunch at the PC and then drive back the same day. Kehtay hein na ke shauq ka koi mol nahi :)

Try this for a start. :slight_smile:

http://www.hotelsinpakistan.com/searchresults.cfm?id=42&acc=Hotels

Thanks for the info Faisal. Will check those out when there.
You're right, some people would go distances for food. Sort of like me who sometimes drive 2.5 hours weekend mornings to NewJersey for choley pooree breakfast.

Multani food

Can anyone confirm that Multanis make most fantastic mutton? Where I grew up in Mumbai, there was a restaurant called Karachi Multani Hindu restaurant. (Don't ask me why he added word Hindu). This place was run by a family from Multan who were happy to stay in India and feed us with a very fantastic mutton curry ki jo abhibhi mere khwabome aati hain. In fact even my mother grudgingly admitted that this restaurant served a better mutton than her own. He used to serve the mutton with a dish of pyaz soaked in numbu-pani. Man, it is about lunch-time here and I am hungry just thinking of this curry.

Multanis are very lucky to have a cuisine like that.

Re: Multani food

[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Arvind: *
Can anyone confirm that Multanis make most fantastic mutton? Where I grew up in Mumbai, there was a restaurant called **Karachi Multani Hindu restaurant
*. (Don't ask me why he added word Hindu).
[/QUOTE]

Karachi Multani? Where did that combination come from?

Karachi Multani?

I understand that at the time this restaurant opened, which was about 1948 or shortly after (my father told me this) our area of Mumbai had a lot of returnees from Karachi. To attract this clientelle he tacked on the word Karachi just as he must have tacked on the word Hindu to satisfy the mainstream. Smart guy this owner because within a few short years he was running around in a Packard (for you young'uns that was the luxory car of choice in 50 s). The cuisine was totally Multani and his falouda was to die for.

Been to Multan a few times in summer as well as in winter to visit a friend there.

In winter it is at least bearable, but the summer's horrible there. The only reason for which I'd go there again would be the nice people there.

I live near there, but never knew it was famous for saints.

Summer there is hot, I think it is the hottest city in pak.

Multan is the hottest place I've been to! Our plane stopped at Multan on our way from Rahim Yaar Khan to Lahore, we literally melted inside. It was so hot and humid that the people on board said the temperature is so high, you could fry an egg on the streets of Multan. I was so relieved when I reached Lahore, traveling by plane in the summer time is hell.

the hottest city in pakistan is not multan but jacobabad :smiley: learnt that in pakistan studies in school :queen: :nerd:

Multan is also the first city where India created history by winning their first test match in Pakistan.

i am having multani hafiz sohan halwa…habshi halwa…right now :blush: its one of my favorite desserts in the world :smiley: