2022
Hello, Local Guides,
As we are now in the month of the Celebration for all Local Guides who are connected through the biggest platform of Local Guides called Local Guides Connect. Yes, this is the Birthday month of our beloved home Local Guides Connect.
So this month, we all are celebrating the 6th Birthday of Connect in different styles, but the favorite for me is a celebration by Local Guides meet-ups.
A week ago, when I posted for Connect's 6th Birthday celebration Makli Thatta PhotoWalk in Pakistan, I got a great response, and after discussion, we decided to organize this meet-up in the historical city of Thatta where if want to visit, we can visit ShahJahan Masjid, Haleji Lake, Keenjhar Lake, and many other places, but this time we wanted a photo walk, which can show the cultural & historical beauty of the city of Thatta, so we choose Makli Necropolis.
We began our journey from Karachi on 30th June Thursday, because we wanted to take photos in the morning light there. And the other reason was extremely hot weather nowadays all over South Asia, which cannot be bearable in the afternoon time, especially in Thatta.
We reached in 2 hours there, it was about 95 kilometers from Karachi, and there we stayed in the Sindh Cultural Department's guest house, which was so nice (Thanks to Mr.Aleem Lashari). And earlier in the morning I, @Swalay , @Bilal_shaikh @GulabParmar , Mukesh, Naeem, and other friends reached Makli Necropolis. Where Mr. Sarfaraz Jatoi welcomed us and suggested that we should visit Jam Nizamuddin's tomb & the grave of Mai Makli (This cemetery is named after this lady), which is no doubt one of the wonderful places for taking photos in Thatta.
Makli Necropolis:
Thatta District is The former capital of Sindh the cradle of literature history and prosperity for the province presently a very small town having ruminants of its rich past and the popular cemetery of Makli and Shah Jahan Mosque.
Makli Graveyard The site which was dedicated as a "UNESCO World Heritage Site" in 1981 as an "excellent testament" to Sindhi civilization between the 14th and 18th centuries is an observer who has seen dozens of civilizations over hundreds of years. There are approximately one million graves here, From kings to the poor are laid to rest in Makli Graveyard.
Since the Makli necropolis is in a very vast area around 10 Kilometers radius, the Sindh Cultural department coordinated small electric vehicles like Golf Cars in which ten to twelve people can easily visit the entire cemetery. That illustrates that A lot is being done to attract and promote tourists to develop Sindh tourism.
A beautiful Video By Local Guide @Naeemurrehman at Makli Necropolis. 👇
The Electric car brought us directly to the destination which we wanted to explore for our Makli Photo Walk, which was The Tomb of Jam Nizamuddin ii.
Jam Nizamuddin, also remembered as Jam Nizam al-Din or Jam Nindo was the Rajput Sultan of Sindh between 1461 and 1508 AD, his dynasty's capital was Thatta. The Summa dynasty transcended the ridge of its superiority during the sovereignty of Jam Nizamuddin II, who is still remembered as a hero of Sindh, and his governing time is a golden age.
The tomb of Jam Nizamuddin, one of the most important emperors of the Summa dynasty is a stone pattern with the finest decorative carving, similar to the fifteenth-century Gujarat style. Its ornament comprises bands of stone excavated in solace running around the walls and affecting half and full lotuses, arched panels set with sunflowers, calling to mind the buildings around Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
It is square in the plan but the dome was never built, work stopped when the walls reached the springing line.
A band of excellent interlaced Arabic inscriptions by a verse from the Holy Quran, seen with a neighboring band of carved geese, constitutes a strange combination of differing features.
The Aryan-style base, about 19’ in length with carved bands in various designs, has adjourned door-like panels. The imitation share or temple spires seen at both corners are illuminated with the most sophisticated, detailed, and beautiful carvings. The mihrab inside is also delicately carved and has very finely cut bands of Arabic captions. However, the stonework of this building represents an excellent specimen of practically Gujarat workmanship.
(Thanks to Sindh Cultural Department for providing such valuable information)
Here is my Google Maps Review about Jam Nizamuddin's tomb, and I was so surprised when I saw my dear friend @Muhammad_Usman 's
Google Maps Review & Photo is also featured at the same place 🤩
We spent almost 4 hours there and tried our best to take photos of every wall of the Majestic Tomb.
After the exploration of the tomb, we visited the graves of Noori & Jam Tamachi, who are the important characters of Sindhi folk Stories. Jam Tamachi was a Samma prince, a ruler of Sindh living in the capital of the Sindh Thatta & Prince Jam Tamachi fell in love with the charming fisherwoman Noori. Noori makes Jam happy with her perfect surrender and obedience.
Another nearest historical grave there is the Grave of Mai Makli (Mother Makli), This graveyard is named after her.
The shrine of Mai Makli, or Mother Makli, is little more than a grave and a small paved area, not a tomb.
According to Mr. Sarfaraz Jatoi the administrator & Historian Guide of Makli Necropolis, in the past era, Mai Makli carried milk from Thatta every day, and distribute this milk and other food to the pilgrims who travel through the Indus river for Hajj & Umrah to Makkah & Madina (present Saudi Arabia).
That is why people still have the same devotion to her for her services to the pilgrims of Makkah & Madina.
Now Some people come there because of their devotion and some come to fulfill their vows who are her believers. They build an exhibition house out of rocks there and pray that they too will have such a house in real life. And if their supplication is granted, they come again here to offer sacrifices and feed the poor people of the surrounding areas.
'For us, it was an amazing meet-up & photo walk, when we didn't only explore any place & took photos, but this time we learned a lot about the history of the people who are resting in this graveyard, especially the former rulers of Indus Civilization.'
This post is a part of Connect's 6th birthday celebration meet-ups along with my #GemsOfTheWorld A Connect Travel Post Challenge.
You can see the visual story of our trip through this Google Photo Album
Surely, this is an exhaustive post North on 6th Anniversary and the Necroplises.
The story about Mai Makhli too is interesting.
You have collected a lot of information & is very interesting to read.
The photos, as always are good treat to our eyes.
Thanks for directly informing me about this beautiful post.
Regards
What a great place you have discovered @KashifMisidia Bhai, All the picture and detailed information is really great.
The Tomb Of Jam Nizamuddin Il looks maintained very well. Thanks for sharing this great post with us.
What an incredible way to celebrate @KashifMisidia ! Congratulations on your brilliant planning! UNESCO Heritage Sites are always beyond imagination in their beauty. What a wonderful idea!
