The Amb Sharif History Revealed

I visited this historical place a few months back. No one is sure about the definite history of these buildings. You can view the pics and ride story HERE. Well, a person from Norway saw these pics somewhere and sent me an email, the text of which is below:

I saw your pics from the Amb ruins, amazing.

I`m from Gunjial or i would say, my parents are from Gunjial. You surely know that place if you are from Joharabad.

Last time i was in Pak i visited also those ruins and after coming back to Norway, i contacted the archeological institute in Oslo.

I brought some samples from the rock or stone used in those tombs and i also found some shells burried under the mud and ofcourse some pictures.

They concluded that these tombs were only a part of a big complex. And these must be between 2000-2500 years old. they are neither buddhist or hindu religious sites. But maybe could be from the time of zoroastrian influence in the region. This complex could be from the time of Achaemenian Empire. 522 B.C.486 B.C

One theory is that this city or complex were destroyed by Alexander the great when he was on march against Jehlum.

By the way i also noticed that people had digged holes in that area. Some people there told us that people regulary come there for digging and this crime is backed by a local politician or some kind of local wadera of the area named Mian Muneer. Some europeans have also been seen there. they digged beside the road.

If it`s true that these tombs are remainents from Achaemeninan Empire, then they would be one of very very few sites in the world and can put Pakistan on the top of archeological sensations.

I saw that you were advocate or something, then you have a kind of responsibility and you probably know how to handle a such case for protecting and highlighting such a place and it`s importance and further research.

Best regards,
Malik Zeeshan Abdullah.

A ride to a Historical place in Amb Sharif: Tombs of Amb Sharif

So its like I am getting more and more interested in riding, and especially riding to the historical places around my city. This time the destination was a place called Amb Sharif in District Khushab, about 65km away from my city.
These pics are not copyrighted, you are welcome to download them. However, I would appreciate if you posted a comment about any pic you downloaded.

We were two of us on my 125 for the ride and enjoyed every moment of it. The off-road part, the water was salty, very bitter. Salt mines of Warcha are quite near from here:

We started at about 8 in the morning, toward West of Joharabad is the city Quaidabad, from there we had to go toward North for Amb Sharif, part of jounrney from Quaidabad to Am Sharif is off-road, but great fun.

About to reach our destination. A pic from some destroyed building:
And finally the historical place. As the situation is, no one is very sure about the history of this place. It is uncertain whether the remains are from the Buddhist era or those of the Hinduism. Anyways, if anyone has any information, you are more than welcome to share it.
There were only these two buildings remaining there. The rest has been destroyed. This is the bigger one:

And the smaller one that is in its original condition, a beautiful description of the brilliant architecture of that time:


Some more pics we took there:




Notice the detail of the artistic work:






People have dug gold made stuff from here and sold it illegally, here is a proof from many of the pits we saw there:


The bigger temple:


The stairs leading to the temple, typical of the times of antiquity..




The bigger temple is not in 100% original condition. Notice the two big pillars in front. They have been made to protect the already destroyed building. The good thing is that the stone has been used that matches the original stone as used in its construction:




The bigger temple has stairs in that that take you to the first and second floor. Of course we were going up now. It was pretty dark in there:








The stairs leading to the top:


A view from the top:




Amazing craftsmanship:


Thats when I took some nice pics of the Kid






Next we explored a bit more and found some more ruins, a pic from there:




From this place we noticed some more stairs, partly destroyed:

Some of the walls still remain here and a look at them gives the reason why. Every piece of rock is placed with small individual pieces of flat rocks and some cement like material was filled to build it:




A view from this height, see if you can find my bike in this pic..


Going down from here I saw this outer skin of a snake, hardly saved myself from falling as the path was very difficult.


The journey back was equally exciting.


Notice the mountain in the background. This is the doing of the salt, it was like the salt was eating it up:










This is the look of my table after this particular ride. From left to right. The first rock is the one of which is used in the construction of the temple, the second one a small piece of the red rock as in the pics above where the salt has played its magic. The third one is Gipsum. The fourth one is salt.

Decaying glory

THE historic buildings, as we see them today, are the relics of antiquity. These mementos of the past, buildings and monuments, remind us of the culture and heritage which has evolved into what we see today. Whereas the historic buildings stand as a symbol the rich architecture of the past; they also enunciate the diversity of human mind when we compare it to the architecture of the present day.
Pakistan has a rich heritage and where there are historic buildings that are in good shape and are well cared of; there are also buildings that are merely vestiges of their glory. Among such vestiges are the remains of Kattas Fort.
Situated only a few miles away from the Kallar Kahar valley, the Kattas Fort is surrounded by mountains resounding the tale of indifference that it has been a victim of and the misfortune that befell it. Authorities haven't bothered to pay attention to the decaying condition of the fort. According to a local man the fort was in a much better condition a few decades ago when people from surrounding areas started digging the floors and destroyed the walls in the hope of finding some treasure_ though all in vain. The condition of the fort is getting worse gradually. There is no fortification wall, no entrance gate and you don't even have to buy a ticket to enter the fort. The worst that could have happened is that the main road from Kallar Kahar to Choa'saidan Shah bisects the two portions of the fort. It is beyond understanding why the archaeology department has neglected this place completely.

Readers Column, The Nation (Edited)