“Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else...” - Lawrence Block
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| (An ethnic figurine in the National Museum) |
Day 12: Sunday, 20 September 2015
Route: Karachi – Bangkok - KL
TG 346/TG 415
After breakfast we brought down our luggage and checked out. We arranged for the luggage to be kept in the hotel and will retrieve them in the afternoon, on the way to the airport.
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| (A canvas painting in our hotel room) |
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| ( A picture with the hotel guard) |
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| (After breakfast, waiting for our transport) |
This morning we planned to visit some historical places in Karachi and if we have the time, we would go for a last minute shopping later.
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| (The side gate of the Jinnah Mausoleum) |
Our first stop was at Mazar-e-Quaid also known as the Jinnah Mausoleum or the National Mausoleum. It is the final resting place of the Great Leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, as well as his sister, the Mother of the Nation, Fatima Jinnah, and Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. Official and military ceremonies take place here on special occasions.
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| (Basketful of fresh fruits for ice-blended drinks) |
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| (Pomegranate ice-blended drink to quench our thirst) |
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| (The grand entrance of Jamiatul Ulumul Islamiyah) |
Our next stop was at Masjid Jame’ New Town also known as Jamiatul Ulumul Islamiyah. It is an Islamic School situated in Banoori Town. The school continues the tradition of the Darul Uloom system initiated by Darul Uloom Deoband. There are more than twelve thousand students in different departments of the Jamiah and its branches, including a number of foreign students. We had a refreshing ice-blended pomegranate juice in a restaurant next door to the mosque.
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| (A structure at the roundabout in Karachi city) |
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| (Cheap sales before Eid-ul-Adha) |
We went back to Mehran Hotel to retrieve our luggage and later had a buffet lunch at one of the restaurant in town and performed our prayers there.
As some of us still wanted to buy some more textiles and saris, we drove to Tariq Road for the Loot Sales but we did not stay long as it was too hot to be walking the streets.
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| (A painting of Muhammad Ali Jinnah playing snooker) |
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| (Pakistan National Museum) |
In the afternoon we visited the National Museum of Karachi. There are at present a total of 11 Galleries in the Museum including an exquisite ‘Quran Gallery’. The National Museum has more than 300 copies of the Quran, out of which around 52 rare manuscripts are on display in the gallery. The Museum also contains important collection of items relating to Pakistan's Cultural heritage.
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| (Figurines of one of the many ethnic groups) |
Some other galleries display Indus Civilization artifacts, Gandhara Civilization Sculptures, Islamic Art, Miniature Paintings, Ancient Coins and Manuscripts documenting Pakistan's Political History. There is also an interesting Ethnological Gallery with life size statues of different ethnicities living in the four provinces of Pakistan. The Museum has a collection of 58,000 old coins dating from 74 Al-Hijra, and hundreds of well-preserved sculptures.
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| (The many antique coins collection) |
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| (The Quran Gallery)) |
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| (An old hand-written Quran on display) |
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| (More displays of the antique Qurans) |
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| (Miniature displays of Pakistan's history) |
We went for a last minute shopping for souvenir t-shirts at Zainab Mall. The Mall is one of the exclusive market for export leftovers, leather goods, local jewelry, and traditional clothing. There are three markets adjacent to each other which all promote local industry. You can also find authentic leather jackets at a very cheap price. The third section is of local cottage industry which sell cloth, pashmina shawls and stitched clothes.
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| (BBQ lamb and chicken kebabs for dinner |
It was already dark when we looked for a place to have dinner. Dinner was lamb and chicken mixed grill at one of the restaurant on the way to the Jinnah International Airport. We were at the airport just in time to check-in. We had ample time to perform our prayers at the praying hall in the airport and bought a pair of leather jackets and some souvenir at the duty-free shops.
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| (Karachi Jinnah International Airport) |
Our flight was on schedule. Feeling tired and exhausted, we napped all the way with classic rock blaring in our ears till the plane touched down in KL.
By late afternoon we were back in our Bidara house, safe and sound. Alhamdulillah…
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