Multan

Multan is a major city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan, situated on the East bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country. One of the oldest cities in South Asia, it is full of noisy bazaars, graceful mosques, ornate tombs and shrines, and has produced an impressive number of Sufi saints, that's why it is also called “the City of Sufis” and “the City of Tombs”. Often billed as Pakistan’s most undiscovered city, Multan is full of unexpected treasures...

Multan was coveted by every invader, one of them being none other than Alexander the Great, who arrived here in 324 BC. Later, the city was annexed to the Mauryan Empire, became part of the Kushan Kingdom, was sacked by the Huns when they swept across the Punjab, and was later ruled by the Hindus. In AD 711, not long before his tragic death, Muhammad bin Qasim became the first Muslim to take Multan, capturing the city for the Caliph of Baghdad after a siege lasting over two months. During his earlier invasion of Sindh, Muhammad overthrew King Dahir, had him executed, and sent the king’s two daughters as a present to the caliph. In order to avenge their father, the women reported that Muhammad bin Qasim had defiled them. The caliph was furious and ordered Muhammad to have himself sewn up in the skin of a freshly killed cow and returned to Baghdad. Muhammad, still only 17 years old, did as he was commanded, and died within three days.

Multan then fell to Mahmood of Ghazni in 1005. The town reached its height as an influential political, religious and cultural centre in the 13^th century. Holy men from all over the Muslim world flocked there, and it is their tombs that make Multan so famous today. The city fell to Tamerlane the Mongol in 1398. It later became part of the Moghal Empire in the 16^th century, enjoyed 200 years of peace, and was later called Dar al-Aman (Abode of Peace). However, it was taken by Nadir Shah of Persia in 1739, by the Afghan Ahmed Shah Durrani in 1752, and by the Sikh Ranjit Singh in 1818. The 1848 British siege of Multan led to the Second Sikh War and the annexation of the Punjab by the British a year later.

Multan is the 6^th largest city of Pakistan and is today an influential economical and political centre for the country, with a dry port and excellent transport links. Over the last two centuries, it has also developed as the centre for the hides and skin trade in the subcontinent, and since Partition it has become a major cotton-producing region. Spinning and weaving of both cotton and wool and the making of hand-knotted carpets are now important industries. Wherever you look – up on the fort, outside the shrines, in the back alleyways – you will see long skeins of freshly dyed cotton laid out in the sun to dry.

A circular road around the rampart gives access to the city through thirteen gates. Multan abounds in places to visit, but the most important one that you should not miss at any cost is the elegantly proportioned Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, which dominates the city from the top of the fort mound. Rukn-e-Alam (Pillar of the People), whose real name was Abdul Fatah, was a pious and learned man, greatly respected in his own day, and head of a mystic Sufi order. When he died in 1334, aged 83, he was buried with his grandfather Baha-ud-Din-Zakaria - whose grave is also worth a visit. Rukn-e-Alam’s present tomb was built in 1320 by Emperor Ghiyas-ud-Din-Tughlaq, who intended it for himself; the emperor’s son bequeathed it to the saint instead. Interestingly, the delicately carved wooden mehrab in the western wall of the tomb is original and the oldest in the subcontinent.

The old gun emplacement on the southern end of the fort mound is a high platform with a good view over Rukn-e-Alam’s Tomb in one direction and the old city of Multan in the other. A sandstone obelisk stands 50 metres high near the entrance to the sports stadium, marking the grave of William Anderson and Alexander vans Agnew, two British officers murdered by the Sikhs in 1848 during the Second Sikh War.

Below the fort mound lies the old city, which bazaars are packed with Multan’s famous textiles, such as Khes (cotton and wool bedspreads) and durries (jute and cotton woven carpets), as well as embroidered cloth, ceramics, brassware, camel-skin ware and pottery amongst others. To get to the bazaars, one will pass by the 19th-century Town Hall, a splendid pink Victorian Gothic building with a clock tower in the centre and cupolas at each corner. If you have a good sense of direction, the twisting alleys of the bazaar are fascinating. For more shopping, do take a rickshaw to the Hussain Agahi Bazaar or the Cantonment (Saddar) Bazaar. Multan is also famous for crops: wheat, cotton and sugar cane as well as mangoes, citrus, guavas, dates and pomegranates. Special mention to mangoes though, as they are reputed to be the tastiest in the world!

Tomb and mosque enthusiasts can spend their time comparing the early Muslim styles of architecture for which Multan is famous. The places worth a visit are numerous and, as far as mosques are concerned, they include Ali Muhammad Mosque, Phulhattan Mosque, Savi Mosque, Eidgah Mosque and Isna Ashri Jafri Mosque. Coming to tombs, the ones of Syed Yusuf Gardezi, Abdul Jalil, Shah Shams Tabriz, Ali Akbar, Ali Akbar’s mother, Baba Khawja Awais Khangha and Bibi Pak Daman merit your attention. We bet the exquisite splendour of this city will blow you away!

Multan features an arid climate with very hot summers and mild winters. The city witnesses some of the most extreme weather in the country. During summers, temperatures reach approximately 45 °C, and in winter -1 °C. Land close to the Chenab River is usually flooded in the monsoon season, and dust storms are a common occurrence within the city. For your information, here below are the average temperatures in the city of Multan:

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