More meaningful comparison can be found in the group of isolated 19th c. forts built by the American Army in Texas to protect the western frontier, or the Roman fortifications in the Eastern Desert of Egypt designed to protect the caravan trade from the Red Sea to the Nile. They all, however, share a high degree of authenticity of materials, design and craftsmanship and retain attributes that reflect the changes in ownership over time. A 9 feet wide entrance is provided by the eastern wall. Survey report points out deterioration, occupation of sites Other forts include (roughly from north to south) Meergarh, Jaangarh, Marotgarh, Maujgarh, Dingarh, Khangarh, Khairgarh, Bijnotgarh and Islamgarh.These structures form a network across the desert landscape. Also there are two bastions in the north and south rising just to 21 feet. The nearest major city is Bahawalpur city, 30 km (19 mi) from the edge of the desert. Unseen by much of Pakistan, and oftentimes barely even recognized. window.tgpQueue.add('tgpli-5fe3c60e19f12'). Watch Queue Queue Survey report points out deterioration, occupation of sites. Derawar fort was built in the 9th c. by Rai Jajja Bhatti. She has written on a wide array of topics; however particular areas of interest are social issues, religion, philosophy and presenting a positive image of Pakistan. window.tgpQueue.add('tgpli-5fe3c60e19ef2'). They form a valuable example of “infrastructure” designed to meet these environmental challenges in the context of changing and often conflict-ridden local circumstances. It is brick work with high and sloping walls. Publications World Heritage Review Series Resource Manuals World Heritage wall map More publications ... Funding World Heritage Fund International Assistance. The fort is situated far away from the densely populated areas and 64 miles away from the Derawar Fort. No clearly disjunct vegetation patterns emerged from these analyses. Moj Garh Fort: Bijnot Fort: Cholistan Desert in Bahawalpur District: Punjab: Deen Garh Fort: Khair Garh Fort: Nawan Kot Fort: Jaam Garh Fort: Khan Garh Fort. The walls have a circumference of 1500 meters and stand up to 30 meters high. The area later turned into a center for caravan trade which led to the establishment of many forts, including the Derawar Fort. It is a square fort with a different number of bastions on each side i.e. It was known as ‘Pholra’, but it in 1927 Nawab Sadiq renamed it after his eldest son), among modern houses made from the bricks of the fort. There is also a well inside and a tank outside. 4000 BC until around 600 B.C. Cholistan covers an area of 25,800 km2 (10,000 sq mi) in the Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, and Rahim Yar Khan districts of southern Punjab. Remains of several structures still exist inside. It is a mud-brick structure with four corner bastions, it rises up to 156 feet. The dilapidating red-bricked fort, which is visible for miles in the vast Cholistan Desert, is surrounded by 30-metre-high bastions along with walls spanning over 1.5 kilometres. 15.) The Hill Forts of Rajasthan, India were inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2013 as a serial site of six majestic forts that “bears testimony to the power of the Rajput princely states that flourished in the region from the 8th to 18th centuries”. The region later became a center for caravan trade, leading to the construction of numerous forts in the medieval period to protect trade routes - of which the Derawar Fort is the best preserved example. It originally had 42 bastions, most of them are intact displaying geometric designs made from brunt-bricks (you can see this in the picture below). The nearest major city is Bahawalpur city, 30 km (19 mi) from the edge of the desert. Hajra Saeed has been writing for the past 22 years. Derawar Fort Islamgarh Fort Mirgarh Fort Jamgarh Fort Mojgarh Fort Marot Fort Phoolra Fort Khangarh Fort Khairgarh Fort Nawankot Fort Bijnot Fort. It is a square mud-brick structure. The present fort was repaired by Karam Khan Arbani (the son of Qaim Khan, the founder of Qaimpur) in 1752. It is this interchange of princely Rajput ideologies and patronage in the arts which form their OUV. window.tgpQueue.add('tgpli-5fe3c60e19f40'). Cholistan, a desert locally known as Rohi, once used to be home to the Hakra River. In the scorching summer of the Cholistan desert, the fort's red-bricked facade seems to glow with the heat and is visible for miles. The area later turned into a center for caravan trade which led to the establishment of many forts, including the Derawar Fort. It is believed that it stands on a fort built in pre-Islamic time by ‘Dev Rawal’. Although in ruins, most of its original features survive. Lost Forts of Cholistan Desert - YouTube Coyote trail team exploring the lost forts of Cholistan. As a result, for many centuries Derawar has been an essential stopping and watering point for all caravans entering the great desert on route to trading entrepots to the east. This was built by Nawab Muhammad Bahawal Khan II in 1783. East of Bahawalpur is the Cholistan Desert .The region was once watered by the Hakra River, known as the Saravati in Vedic times. Derawar Fort or fortress is the historical monument, standing with the grandeur and beauty. With bastions stretching across miles within the heart of Cholistan Desert, Derawar Fort in the Cholistan Desert features a very interesting architecture that makes it a standout attraction in the region. The northern wall is curved, for reasons not known. Thar desert of Sindh adjoins by cholistan desert. These properties are both in stark contrast to the Cholistan forts which are structurally impressive but not ornate or extravagant, nor do they have urban development within their walls or nearby. the first line of forts began from Phulra and ended in Lera, the second from Rukhanpur to Islamgarh, and the third from Bilcaner to Khaploo. Completed c. 1730s, with an adjacent royal necropolis, and an archaeological site of the Indus Valley Civilization. This is a gap which the Desert Forts of Cholistan will help to fill. Each of the forts of Cholistan shares a cultural and historical context and a special relationship with the desert landscape Together they display all the variables of the proposed OUV for the property and convey its significance. Also known as ‘Winjhrot’, it was built by Raja Winjha in 757, but in 1167 Shahbuddin Muhammad Ghori had it taken down. Derawar and the Desert Forts of Cholistan is part of the Tentative list of Pakistan in order to qualify for inclusion in the World Heritage List. A damaged slanting brick tower is also present. If you plan a visit to Cholistan you’ll be astonished to see that Cholistan has a vast asset of cultural heritage. when the river changed its flow and subsequently vanished underground. It was captured in 1766 by Ikhtiyar Khan and renamed as Islamgarh. It is a mud and brunt-brick structure which is 170 feet high on the inside with octagonal bastions. The place where it was built was supposed to be an ancient site founded by one of the rulers of Chittor during pre-Islamic times. This is a small square mud structure, with four bastions in each corner that are 60 feet apart. a Rajput ruler of Bhatti clan. All of these varied forms date from the 16th to late 18th centuries, although many are renovations of previous buildings from as early as the 9th c. Despite this variation in form, all these forts are clustered within an area of only. Click here for a short description of the site, as delivered by the state party. Derawar, for example, is located at a critical point in the desert where it is possible to access deep water deposits which are all that remains of the ancient Hakra River. The eastern and southern walls exist as well as some of its bastions. A detailed entrance can be found on the eastern side, with a 47 feet long passage bordered by domed rooms on the side. The Tentative Lists of States Parties are published by the World Heritage Centre at its website and/or in working documents in order to ensure transparency, access to information and to facilitate harmonization of Tentative Lists at regional and thematic levels. This river, the bed of which can be seen clearly etched into the desert landscape, supported settlements from ca. More than 100 Racers from all over Pakistan will challenge the sand of the Cholistan in different categories. Muhammad Maruf Khan began building it in 1743 (His tomb can be found 400 yards south of the fort). It is a square mud-brick structure. Derawar Fort is a stronghold located in what is today Bahawalpur, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. It had six wells on the outside. The sole responsibility for the content of each Tentative List lies with the State Party concerned. Since then the Cholistan area has been a stark and inhospitable desert environment at the edge of empires. The oldest fort of pre-Muslim period is located one mile south of Fort Abbas (a historical city in Bhawalnagar District. Located in the Bahawalpur Districtof Punjab province, eastern Pakistan. there are in total 11 forts in the desert owned by the abassi family of Bahawalpur state. In the dry season they cluster in temporary villages around the more reliable wells (some up to 30 metres or 100 feet deep). This small but potentially data-rich part of the desert network meets the priority for nomination put forward by the Silk Roads study as the need to capture the desert routes and the broadly eastwest cub-continent routes of Afghanistan-Pakistan-India. Till 1971 due to the availability of water, human settlement existed. Fort Christian (1774-1794) - Built in 1774 by Capt. Bijnot Fort (Urdu: قِلعہ بِجنوٹ ‎), is a ruined fortress located in Bahawalpur District of Punjab, Pakistan, 23 kilometres (14 miles) west of Indo-Pakistani border in Cholistan Desert.The fort was founded by Khair Panwar Rajputs, who also ruled at forts of Khairpur and Khairgarh. We saw old tunnels that supposedly went to the Mahals in Bahawalpur, or even to India. [2] PLACES TO VISIT IN PAKISTAN Cholistan The Unsettled Desert Six-and-a-half million acres of sprawling desert, nine men to each square kilometre of sand — yet on that morning, Cholistan seemed very much like a small town. Although the precise extent and nature of this network is still being explored, it is clear that it is intimately linked to the routes that were crossed for centuries by desert caravans. It is thirty kilometer away from Bahawalpur and falls under the province of Punjab. A site worth a visit if you like history and architecture. Bijnot Fort is a ruined fortress located in Bahawalpur District of Punjab, Pakistan, 23 kilometres west of Indo-Pakistani border in the Cholistan Desert. 4) Rohtas Fort Jahlum. Derawar Fort and the group of medieval forts of Cholistan are an outstanding representation of the role of water in the play of power in the vast desert region. 250 km N-S and 100 km E-W to the east of the historic cities of Bahawalpur and Yazman. He was the disciple of Gilani Makhdoom of Uchh (this fact had been inscribed on the gate in Persian). It should be a UNESCO site. Criterion (v): The Forts of Cholistan are an outstanding example of human interaction with a harsh desert environment and the resulting efforts to control, safeguard and benefit from scarce water resources which were essential to caravan movement through this corridor. There were three rows of these forts. Has experience in technical writing, screenwriting and teaching. The fort remained in use until the end of Indian hostilities in 1794. Some intricate pillars of yellow sandstone with extensive carvings (you can see this in the picture below and it is preserved in the Bahawalpur Museum) can give you an understanding of the former grandeur of these shrines. Geography. It has remained under the rulers of Bhawalpur State since the late 18 century. It is a lovely square burnt-brick structure which rose to 114 feet, and was built by Jam Khan Marufani in 1788. 6) Ranikot Fort. The major axes … The Cholistan Desert also known as Rohi exists in Punjab and is privileged as the largest desert of the Indian.... +92 321 410 6223 info@pakistantravelplaces.com Home BAHAWALPUR: Forts are a physical representation of our rich cultural history and serve as a reminder to us of the plethora of feats realised by those before us. The Rally route has been extended to 500 kilometres in the Cholistan Desert and also includes major forts of the desert (Dingarh Fort, Marrot Fort, Khan … Derawar fort is the best surviving example of this series of historic forts, some dating from pre-Mughal times, but all restored and expanded from the 16th to 18th century by powerful local clans. 7) Kot Diji Fort. window.tgpQueue.add('tgpli-5fe3c60e19f02'). United Nations, Post-Conflict and Post-Disaster Responses, Astronomy and World Heritage Thematic Initiative, Human Evolution: Adaptations, Dispersals and Social Developments (HEADS), Initiative on Heritage of Astronomy, Science and Technology, Initiative on Heritage of Religious Interest, Natural World Heritage in the Congo Basin, Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, Reducing Disasters Risks at World Heritage Properties, World Heritage and Sustainable Development, World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme, World Heritage Centre’s Natural Heritage Strategy, World Heritage Earthen Architecture Programme (WHEAP). Cholistan produces very superior type of carpet wool as compared to that produced in other parts of Pakistan. 9) Attock Fort . The surviving walls are 6 feet thick and 18 feet high. You can’t compile a list of historical forts in Pakistan without mentioning the picturesque Derawar Fort even once. The Nineteen Forts of Cholistan. The gate of the fort is on its south side and is reached by a winding road. Daniel Smith as a colonial militia Indian defense garrisoned by 21 men for Lord Dunmore's War.Named for Col. William Christian who supervised the construction. It is a great tourist attraction … Latest News. window.tgpQueue.add('tgpli-5fe3c60e19ec4'). They were sampled by repeated 100-m long transects at 55 sites. There are remains of structures inside the fort, may richly decorated with tile and fresco work; the Moti or Pearl Mosque stands nearby and the cemetery of the Nawabs of Bahawalpur filled with ornate and elaborate graves. A mud-brick core still exists. On the north there is an 11 feet wide entrance, on which three rooms are built. Also known as the Muzaffarabad Fort, this fortress was built by the Chak rulers of Kashmir in the 16th century. Cholistan also boasts of many old forts such as Derawar,Vingrot, Banwar, Marcot, Wilhar, Maujgharh, Mao, Phuira and Din-gharh etc. While on my annual trip to Pakistan with my family I found this beautiful place on the ‘attractions near you’ search Siri pulled up for me. Presumably destroyed by floods in 1804, it had been built by Sabzal Khan in 1780. Let’s take a brief look at them: Bara Fort. It is a square fort and each wall is 204.8 meters (672 feet) long, vertical 30 meters (98.4 feet) high and its total circumference of the walls is 1500 meters (4921.5 feet). Survey report points out deterioration, occupation of sites. It is badly damaged but was a square structure with bastions in each corner. © UNESCO World Heritage Centre 1992-2020 These tangible assets include archeological sites, forts, the unique life style of nomadic people there, the folk music and dance, poetry, rites and rituals; these all things simply reflect a … Cholistan, a desert locally known as Rohi, once used to be home to the Hakra River. It is a great tourist attraction with many awe-inspiring ancient relics as well as a rich culture. Derawar Fort, Cholistan, Pakistan - March 2008 To the southeast of Dera Nawab, on the edge of the Cholistan Desert, make an exciting day’s outing from either Ahmadpur East or Bahawalpur. It was built by Aqil Khan, who was the son of Kabir Khan Achrani in 1772. However, the time has taken a toll on the building of the fort but it still looks as magnificent as … It had four sweet water wells outside. There is a mosque nearby too. The medieval forts of the Cholistan desert form a remarkable and dense concentration of defensive structures in a relatively small area and an inhospitable landscape of sand and stone. Il n’est pas le fruit du hasard. This is a mud-brick structure and was built by Ali Murad Pirjani in 1767. This area is the southern part of Le désert du Cholistan est béni ! From this wool they knit beautiful carpets, rugs and other woolen items. Now the walls and bastions have fallen down. The medieval forts of the Cholistan desert landscape are a group of up to a dozen structures, some standing and some deteriorated. English:Derawar Fort— a large masonry fortress in the Cholistan Desertnear Bahawalpur. The Cholistan desert, or Rohi, is the western part of the Thar desert of the sub-continent which lies in modern Pakistan. Pictures of Six Forts in Cholistan Bahawalpur Pakistan. More Contacts Site Map Become a member Donate Now! Survey report points out deterioration, occupation of sites The area was once well watered by the river Ghaggar now called the Hakra in Pakistan and known in Vedic times as the Sarasvati. The Cholistan Desert (Urdu: صحرائے چولستان ‎; Punjabi: چولستان روہی), also locally known as Rohi (روہی), is a large desert in the southern part of Punjab, Pakistan that forms part of the Greater Thar Desert, which extends to Sindh province and the Indian state of Rajasthan. This is a group of utilitarian and yet varied fortifications closely spaced across a relatively small area of desert, all either built or renovated over a period of a few centuries to protect water sources and the caravan trade in an area of South Asia which has not yet been adequately explored or documented as an important link in the vast network of the Silk Roads. Derawar fort was first built in the 9th century AD by Rai Jajja Bhati, a Hindu ruler of the Bhati clan, as a tribute to Rawal Deoraj Bhati the king of Jaisalmer and Bahawalpur. The … The medieval forts of the Cholistan desert landscape are a group of up to a dozen structures, some standing and some deteriorated. BAHAWALPUR: In Cholistan, forts which erected 800 years ago are fast becoming ruins owing to a dearth of maintenance and renovation work by relevant authorities.One of them is Derawar Fort. There are many buildings inside which were supposedly quarters for the Army and residential ones for the Royal family. Cholistan covers an area of 25,800 km2 (10,000 sq mi) in the Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, and Rahim Yar Khan districts of southern Punjab. The walls have a length of 1500 meters and stand up to thirty meters high. 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