Moenjodaro, Pakistan

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
In 1980 Moenjodaro city was declared as world heritage site by UNESCO in 1980.Moenjodaro had gaot the ruins of lost Indus valley civilization.The remains of the civilization are situated on the west bank of Indus river,about 12 km from moenjodaro railway station in Larkana District of Sindh(province) .it was flourished in 3rd millennium B.C .The main feature of this civilization is its TOWN PLANING which includes Baked and Dry bricks,Sewage system,Covered Drainage system,Public baths,Colleges for priests,soak pits for disposal of Sewerage system,Large state Granary which was about 45 meter long and 15 meter high.it was meant to store food grains and it had line of circular brick platform for pounding grains,Assembly Hall it was 24 square meter pillared hall.Kiln baked bricks were used to construct these pillars.
The Indus valley civilization was so dably lost that the present inhabitants of Mehrgarh the had no idea that a complete civilization is buried under the land on which they r living.the history of excavation of lost IVC begins when the people found out that if they dig the land they can get good quality of bricks buried under it,so people started digging inorder to have bricks to construct their homes with no concern about how those so many bricks got buried under the land.They were just happy about the fact that they were getting free good quality bricks.In 1856 six miles from river Ravi in the foot hills of Himalayas construction workers come up with a small curmbling hill of bricks which they used for the railway line ballasts.Along with the bricks some steatite(soapstone) seals were also found .Archaeologists, Sir John Cunningham,quickly confirmed their antiquity this started the journey of discovery of Lost Civilization.

Bonjour Alyson,

I don't know about Karachi, but I did it from Sukkur, a day trip, better to do it during the daylight, there've been cases of dacoity and kidnapping on that route.

Normally to any historicl site or museum, as besal mentioned, 200 Pkrs, is charged, a PTDC Motel's there at Moenjodaro so you can stay there too.

Taxila's at 45 minutes drive from Islamabad, Museum and sites're worthseeing, likewise Juliuan monestary, Sirkap site (the ancient city), but if you buy the ticket for one ite you can visit 2,3 sites with the same ticket.

Sites're opne normally but I can check the off days for the museums.

October's one of the best months to visit south Pakistan, on the 3rd or 4th we'd be celebrating Eid in the Muslim world.

I'm here in Chitral after making a trip to Kalash valleys with some media people, weather's very nice here.

All the best,

Imran Schah

Photos of the Mountains, Kalash
http://www.flickr.com/photos/imranthetrekker

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Moen Jo daro is the site of 5000 years old Indus civilization. It is located 400 kilometers from Karachi and 26 Kilometers from the town of Larkana.

There are 4 main archaeological areas to see in Moen Jo daro. SD area which was the administrative area, DK area which was rich residential area, VS area which was poor residential area and HR area which was the Industrial area.
There is a rest house and a small hotel in Moen Jo Daro. It is a site which must be visited

At Moen-jo-daro (Mound of the Dead) on the West Bank of River Indus in Sind. have been found the remains of one of the earliest and most developed urban civilization of the ancient world. Discovered in 1922, Moen-jo-daro was once a metropolis of great importance, forming part of the Indus Valley Civilization complete together with Harappa (discovered in 1921) in Sahiwal District of the Punjab about 1287.48 Kms (800 miles away from Moen-jo-daro.
This pre-historic civilization flourished from the third till the middle of the second millenium B C. when it mysteriously disappeared. The archaeological excavations place Moen-jo-daro among the most spectacular ancient cities of the world. It had mud-brick and baked-brick buildings. An elaborate covered drainage system with soakpits for disposal bins, a large State granary. a spacious pillared hall, a college of priests, a large and imposing building (probably a palace) and a citadel mound which incorporates in its margin a system of solid burnt brick towers.
A master architect or architects skillfully planned this highly developed and organized urban settlement. Beneath the citadel, parallel streets. Some 30 feet wide stretch away and are crossed by other straight streets, which divide the town into great oblong blocks, each 400 yards in length and 200 or 300 yards in width.
The most imposing remains are those of a Great Hall which consisted of an open quadrangle with verandahs on four sides. galleries and rooms at the back, a group of halls on the north and a large bathing pool. It was probably used for religious or ceremonial bathing.
Nearby are the remains of the Great Granary, possibly a public treasury where taxes were paid in kind. Testifying to the highly developed and artistic sensibility of the Moen-jo-daro people is the discovery of necklaces. pendants of beads, earrings and anklets of ivory and mother-of-pearl. vessels of silver, copper and bronze and polished stone weights and measures which suggest the existence of stringent civic regulations.

A brick city ,almost 5000 years old with running water,comunal baths and wells in an isolated environment where u only listen to the different birds singing all day long if u contact the Archeology department in Karachi to book a room in their resthouse at the site.

There is a regular flight (one hour)between Moen-jo-Daro and Karachi. Check PIA at www.piac.com.pk for details. Worth one day trip.