Today you are in the Capital of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Islamabad It is the country's
tenth-most populous city with a population of 1,108,872 people and is federally administered by the
Pakistani government as part of the
Islamabad Capital Territory. Built as a
planned city in the 1960s and established in 1967, it replaced
Karachi as Pakistan's national capital.
The Greek architect
Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis developed Islamabad's
master plan, in which he divided it into eight zones; the city comprises administrative,
diplomatic enclave, residential areas, educational and industrial sectors, commercial areas, as well as rural and green areas administered by the
Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation with support from the
Capital Development Authority. Islamabad is known for its parks and forests, including the
Margalla Hills National Park and the
Shakarparian. It is home to several landmarks, including the country's flagship
Faisal Mosque, which is the
world's fifth-largest mosque. Other prominent landmarks include the
Pakistan Monument and
Democracy Square.
Rated as
Gamma + by the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Islamabad has one of the highest costs of living in Pakistan. The city's populace is dominated by both middle and upper-middle class citizens. Islamabad is home to twenty universities, including
Bahria University,
Quaid-e-Azam University,
PIEAS,
COMSATS University, and
NUST. It is also rated as one of the safest cities in Pakistan and has an expansive
RFID-enabled surveillance system with almost 2,000 active
CCTV cameras.
Folk and Heritage Museum: PAKISTAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ETHNOLOGY (HERITAGE MUSEUM) earlier known as Folk Art Museum was established in 1982 with a covered area of around twenty thousand (20,000) square feet. The fascinating thing about the Heritage Museum is that it presents history and living traditions of the people of Pakistan both from the main stream and the remotest regions of the country.
The primary purpose of the museum is to educate and edify present and future generations of Pakistan and to create a treasure house for the nation more valuable than the vault of any bank in the world.
Most museums in Pakistan are archaeological which are a throwback from colonial times. The Heritage Museum is the first state museum of ethnology in Pakistan which presents the history and living traditions of the people of Pakistan both from the mainstream and the remotest regions of the country. The location of this landmark achievement at Islamabad enriches the federal capital and adds to its attractions.
The museum has a covered area of 60,000 sq. ft. featuring exhibit halls, making it the largest museum in Pakistan. This is a museum for the people of Pakistan, who are the real bearers of our cultural traditions, which make Pakistan truly great.
Pakistan Monument a
national monument and
heritage museum located on the western
Shakarparian Hills in
Islamabad,
Pakistan. The monument was constructed to symbolize the unity of the Pakistani people. It is dedicated to the people of Pakistan who sacrificed their "today" for a better "tomorrow". The four large petals represent each of the four main cultures of Pakistan, the
Punjabi, the
Baloch, the
Sindhi and the
Pakhtun. The three smaller petals represent: the minorities,
Azad Kashmir and
Gilgit-Baltistan. Its elevation makes the monument visible from across the
Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is a popular tourist destination.
Faisal Masjid: is the national
mosque of Pakistan, It is the
fifth-largest mosque in the world, the largest mosque outside the Middle East, and the largest within South Asia, located on the foothills of
Margalla Hills in Islamabad. It is named after the late
King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. The mosque features a contemporary design consisting of eight sides of concrete shell and is inspired by the design of a typical
Bedouin tent.
A major tourist attraction in Pakistan, the mosque is a contemporary and influential piece of
Islamic architecture.
Construction of the mosque began in 1976 after a $28 million grant from
Saudi King Faisal, whose name the mosque bears. The unconventional design by
Turkish architect
Vedat Dalokay was selected after an international competition. Without a typical
dome, the mosque is shaped like a Bedouin tent, surrounded by four 260 feet (79 m) tall minarets. The design features eight-sided shell shaped sloping roofs forming a triangular worship hall which can hold 10,000 worshippers.
Combined the structure covers an area of 33 acres (130,000 m
2; 1,400,000 sq ft), the mosque dominates the landscape of Islamabad. It is situated at the north end of
Faisal Avenue, putting it at the northernmost end of the city and at the foot of
Margalla Hills, the westernmost foothills of the
Himalayas. It is located on an elevated area of land against a picturesque backdrop of the national park. Faisal Mosque was the
largest mosque in the world from 1986 until 1993 when it was overtaken by the mosques in
Saudi Arabia. Faisal Mosque is now the sixth largest mosque in the world in terms of capacity.
Daman-e-Koh View Point a hilltop garden north of
Islamabad. It is in the center of the
Margalla Hills. The name is a fusion of two Persian words "Dāman" (دامن) meaning "skirt" and "Kōh" (کوہ) meaning "hill", which collectively denote "foothills". It is about 2400 ft above sea level and about 500 ft above Islamabad. The area is a popular destination for both residents and tourists.
Tourist treats are a popular attraction for monkeys. Leopards are reported to descend from higher hills of
Murree during the winter months.
Daman-e-Koh is located on the route to
Pir Sohawa, which is approximately 3600 ft above sea level. Since the road is slender and winding, it is cited as a reason for traffic jams for the lack of public transportation alternatives. Environmental concerns led to the suspension of the chairlift from Daman-e-Koh to Pir Sohawa
Overnight in Islamabad
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