Norman's Blog: Road to Moen Jo Daro

Road to Moen Jo Daro

We followed our police escort away from the main road along roads that were becoming less used and maintained. Along a tree lined avenue and a brick wall we turned through a non-descript gate.

Inside, hidden by the wall and trees was the Faiz Palace.

We worked our way around the side to the front. It was another spectacular and ornate palace. The columns at the corners of the buildingd were inspired by palm trees with a distinctive palm=-ree like effect. It was built in the 1870's for the royal family of Khaipur, another indepedent princely state.

A view of the main facade for the gardens laid out in front of the palace.

A detail of the decoration.

Inside the hall which is also the main reception room.

A fireplace. It can be cold here but this is more for effect than for prctical purposes because such a small fire could not possibly warm the whole room.

And behind the wall facing the front door is a dining room.

We drove on to the Kotdiji Fort but first...

...we stopped at an archaeological site. It was fenced and locked but there was a large gap under the door that we could squeeze through.

It was a heap of eroded mud bricks, building stone nd more pieces of pottery than you could shake a stick at. Several interesting pieced hve been found here and indications of continuous human settlement for more than three thousand years.

We arrived at the first gate into the Kotdiji Fort.

The second gte ws up a ramp for cavalry and carts although there was a small gate for humans up a flight of steps to ne side under the out wall.

The second gate.

The gates were elephant proof with thick spikes as long as your hand. Elephants were used to lean against the gate and push them open. The spikes deterred elephants from during their jo.

A view of the approach to the second gate.

The route up fromm the second to the third gate and the Victory Tower, the white tower at the top of the picture at the third and final gate.

A view back to the granaries. There were outside the fort's walls but the town also had its own defensive walls. At terms of danger, the grain would e moved into the fort.

A connon on the battlements overlooking the town.

Inside the third gate and part of the Victory Tower.

The water cistern. It had a waterproof lining and a wooden roof.

The fort is built along the ridge line of the hill, so it is long and thin. In plan, the fort resembles a deer with the horns being the entrance, the Victory Tower is the eye, the water cistern the heart and...

...the most easterly tower the snout.

The steps up to the most easterly tower. You need a good head for heights as there are no guard rails.

The main ridge forms the body of the deet and there are two extensions, built along promontories that stretch away from the main ridge which form the front two legs, with a Sufi shrine at the hoof end of the front legs...

A view back to the archaeological remains on a small hill.

The barracks and store rooms were built into the upper story of the walls...

...with entrances from the main parage ground.

A cannon on a gun carriage. The letters KSIF were moulded onto the carriage standing for the Kings Sheikh Infantry Force.

The kings throne.

A view from the main spine of the ridge acoss to a promontory that be the final part of the deer theme, the back legs.

A close up of the hoof of the back legs with the Miryam Cannon just visible on top of the tower. The platform sticking out from the battlements to the right is the execution spot where prisoners would be pushed off the edge and hanged.

The Victory Tower, closed to the public.

Next we visited the White Palace, built for use by the king's guests. It had been painstakingly refurbished over a seven year period and comleted in 2022. But that year saw exceptional monsson rains. Areas around here were under three metres of water which sat around for six months.

More views of the outside.

Inside, the damage from the floods can be seen with the bottom of the walls requiring to be stripped back to the brick dreid out and all the refurbishment work redone.

The main hall.

The ceiling.

The damaged floor and lower parts of the walls.

We moved on to another palace, the Shish Palace.

More intricate decorations inside...

...with work ongoing.

The ceiling. It will be a marvel to see in a few years time when work is complete.

We stopped at the shrine of Sarmust Sachel, a Sufi poet. A view of the shrine from the square in front of it.

The entrance to the shrine.

The tomb of the poet, surrounded by close fsmily members.

And musicans preforming and dancing in the square.

Then we stopped at a jeggri processing plant. The stacks of freshly harvest sugar cane.

The cane is crushed by rotating cogs that squeeze the juice out and it is collected on plstic containers in the pit.

The juice is poured into a large heated vat to evaporate the water. The scum that forms is scooped off with a ladle. The concentrsted juices are poured into a tray and left to cool and dry. When it is malleable, it is scopped up by hand, and fashioned into patties and left to dry in the sun.. It is not refined sugar, just raw cane sugar.

Using a ladle to scoop off the scum. Just to the right is the fuel used. it is the dried husk of the sugar cane after it has had the sugar juice squeezed out of it.

Last stop of the the day was Zulfakir Bhutto's mausoleum and shrine. He was the first elected prime minister of Pakistan in 1071. He was overthrown and executed by the military in 1979.