Sukkur

Sukkur    

Our first stop was at the offices of the Lloyd Barrage. It is a huge barrage across the Indus at Sukkur that regulates the flow of the river and supplies 30% of all the irrigation water used in Pakistan. There are four major canals leading off the to east and three going west. They iriigate more three three million hectares. We needed their permission to cross the old road along the downstream side of the barrage and to ee the mueum.

A view of the new main road to replace the road over the barrage. The new bridge was built in 2008.

A view of the downstream side of th barrage from the river bank in front of the offices. Each arch has a gate and there are 66 arches with gates.

At last we got permission and crossed the barrage road.

One of the gates.

The museum building. It is a mirror images of the barrage offices on the other side althoguh the internal layout is different. Inside are models of different parts of the dam, statistics of how much earth was moved, concrete used and stones cut to shape. There are lists of engineers and designers. There are photos of the project during construction. It was built by the Britsh between 1923 - 1932.

A view of the riverbank downstream of the barrage underneath the new bridge. There are buffalo having a morning swim.

A detail of the upstream face of one of the gates and its counter weight. Each gate weighs 80 tons. I could have stayed all day but my guide and guard were getting impatient. The driver didn't mind as he was fast asleep by the time we got back to the car.

Kust upstream on the east bank is the Shrine of the Seven Sisters. They were being persecuted by the authorities and found sanctuary deep in the caves of the hill. On top is the shrine and a locl cemertery.

We had crossed into Sindh and this area has a different burial tradition. Many of the tombs have stone sides with quotes carved into them from the Kuran.

Four pillars of the shrine.

The hill is on the banks of the Indus. There were views upstream of two bridges, both built by the British. One is a cantilevered railway bridge and behind it is a giant single arch iron bridge.

At the foot of the hill was a small beach with several boats moored next to it and some children playing in the sand. We sat for a while watching the river. We were looking for Indus river dolphins. They are only found in this river. We sat for a while but saw none.

We stopped at a shrine to the 72 victims of the Husayn family and attendents who were massacred by Syrian Ummayyad forces in 680AD. Only his sister and son survived.

A detail of the main entrance.

On the other side of the road was another shrine to the same event.

The main entrance of two minarets.

Inside the shrine.

A symbol of the tomb.

The migrab.

There was another shrine around the corner facing a small alley.

The stairs up to the entrance.

Behind bars on the doors and windows is the main event. It is a glass box and inside is a strand of hair of the prohet, Muhammad.

We crossed the Indus on the bridge built by the British with the railway bridge running alongside.

We were going to take a ferry to an island in the river. It was an eight metre long wooden boat with a canvas canopy for shade. On the island is a Hindu temple.

A view of the temple complex from the ferry.

A detail of the entrance.

A detail of a balcony.

The temple was founded by Balchandar Sharma in 1823 altough it is known as Sadhu Bela Mandir. De died in 1863 and the temple is now a place of pilgrmage.

There are mulitple buildings on site including this library.

More buildings. It is a congested site being retricted by the size of the island so many buildings are built very close together and it is hard to get a decent photo of just one building.

We stopped by the Jamai mosque on the west bank of the river. It was next to a main rod and not esy to get a photo of the outside, but I wan't disappointed as it was built in 1935 and is a functional moque rather than a work of art.

 

A detail of the interior view of the embellishment above the main facade.

A view of the inner side of th main entrance.

A view alng one side.

We stopped on a busy market street and walked up an alley. Here hidden behind th market stalls was the Pir Ilahi Baksh Tower, also known as the Ilmi Tower. It is a 17th century lookout tower 30 metres high. There are steps up to the top for the fit and willing to take in the views across the city.

We moved on to the clock tower. It was constructed in 1937 by Hindu businessman Seth WadhoMal Nebhau for the Silver Jubilee of King George V.

Just oposite the clock tower is the date market and I couldn't pass through the centre of the date growing area without seeing the market.

One of the stall holders displaying his wares.

And then there was just one more shrine to visit but it became two. We were following local directions through the maze of alleys and took a wrong turn.

It was a surprise find as it had some well preserved mosaics and a former government minister is buried here.

And then it was on to the shrine that we were looking for, the Kalanda Takh Lah Shahabas, with its gold opulence.

The shrine within which is housed his hat.

A detail of the decortion of the dome.