Sunday, March 27, 2011

Quetta-A historical city

Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan.Quetta was historically part of the Pashtun-dominated Hotaki and Durrani Empire until it was invaded by the British Raj in the mid-19th century, during the First Anglo-Afghan War. The city in general is dominated by Pashtun people followed by Baloch people and Brahuis, with Hazaras, Punjabi and others as the minority groups. Most of the Baloch people in Quetta arrived after 1970, when a new province with the name of Balochistan was created.
Pashto is the main language spoken throughout the city. Other languages include Brahui, Balochi, Urdu, Hazaragi, Sindhi, and Punjabi. The city has expanded from a population of just 11,000 in 1891 to a total of 676,941 according to the 1998 census.A small number of registered Afghan refugees are still to be found in and around the city but are not counted in the national census of Pakistan as they are citizens of Afghanistan deemed to be remaining in the country temporarily.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

RaniKot-World Largest Fort


Ranikot Fort is the world’s largest fort with a circumference of about 26 km or 16 miles. Since 1993, it has been on the list of tentative UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is located in the Kirthar Range, about 30 km southwest of Sann, in Jamshoro District, Sindh, Pakistan.
Ranikot is the most talismanic wonder of Sindh. Visible from five kilometers away its massive undulating walls twist and dip over the hills. With the circumference of about twenty kilometers, its walls, built with dressed sandstone and reinforced with 45 bastions along the outer wall, of which 7 are rectangular and the remaining are round. All modified through the ages to accommodate the use of gunpowder, this perhaps makes it the largest fort in the world.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Pakistan Grestest Airport-Karachi Airport

Pakistan's largest international and domestic airport. The airport is named after Crown attorney/statesman Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and its first Governor General, who was popularly known as the Quaid-e-Azam ("Great Leader").
The airport provides primary hub for the flag carrier, PIA, Shaheen Air International, and Airblue as well as many other private airlines. The airport is equipped with aircraft engineering and overhauling facilities including the Ispahani Hangar for wide-body aircraft.
During the 1940s there was a large black coloured hangar (also locally known as Kala Chapra) at the site of Karachi Airport, constructed for the British R101 Airship. Only three hangars were ever built in the world to dock and hangar the R101 airships. However, the R101 airship never arrived in Karachi (then part of the British Raj) as it crashed early in its journey in France. This hangar was so huge that aircraft often used it as a visual marker while attempting VFR landings at Karachi. Over the years, the hangar became known as the landmark of Karachi, until it was torn down by order of then-President Ayub Khan in the 1960s.