City of Sufis

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                      City of Sufis

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Multan is Pakistan’s third largest city by area and it is fifth largest by population. The city is located on the banks of the Chenab River in the geographic center of the country. Multan is known as the City of Sufis because of the large number of shrines and Sufi saints from the city. The city is blanketed with bazaars, mosques, shrines and ornate tombs. It is the birthplace of Fariduddin Ganjshakar popularly known as Baba Farid, recognized as the first major poet of the Punjabilanguage.Multan is located in a bend created by five rivers of central Pakistan. The Sutlej River separates it from Bahawalpur and the Chenab River from Muzaffar Garh. The city has grown to become an influential political and economical center for the country, with a dry port and excellent transport links.The culture of Multan has some prominent elements that form its identity. Those elements include:

LANGUAGE

Multani is one of the oldest dialects spoken in southern Punjab. It is

 a dialect of Punjabi and is a mixture of Jhangochi of Punjabi and 

Sindhi. Saraiki is the new name but for centuries, Multani was in 

use. it is mainly spoken in Multan District, Muzaffargarh 

District andadjacent areas This entire area has almost the same 

traditions, customs and culture

FOOD

The area around the city is a flat plain and is ideal for agriculture,

 with many citrus and mango farms. There are many canals that cut 

across the Multan District, providing water from nearby farms. This

 makes the land very fertile.Multan produces one of the best 

  mangoes in the world. There are    many varieties of mangoes

 being      produced and mango farms are    undoubtedly the most

 common    sight in the suburbs of Multan.      The hot weather and

 abundant  well irrigated fertile land assures    unprecedented taste 

for these    mangoes. Chaunsa, Langra, Anwar    ratol, Dusairi, 

Fajri, Desi and      Sindhri are some of the many mango varieties 

currently being cultivated in Multan. The mangoes produced here 

are probably the sweetest on the globe and a large portion of the 

cultivation is exported to many different countries including 

America, England, Canada, Saudia Arabia and Japan.

Sohan Halwa is another specialty of Multan and is popular 

throughout the country.It is famous for the cultivation of wheat, 

cotton, rice and sugar cane as well as other fruits apart from mangoes such as citrus, guavas and pomegranates.

 MULTANI MITTI

It is multani sand used as Clay for beauty mask for absorbing 

moisture. It is available in most of the cosmetics shops and is very 

famous among women who are conscious about their skin. It is 

demanded all over the country by different parlors’ and skin care 

institutions.

 TRADITIONAL DRESS

Multan is famous for its multani dresses, mainly for women. 

        The dresses are made with beautiful embroidery and have a 

very ethnic touch to them. The dress for men includes shalwar 

kamiz and lungi. Another element in its dress code includes the 

Multani Khussas: shoes that are the latest trends in streets of 

Pakistan. Nowadays, these khussas are in fashion and are 

demanded by women all over Pakistan. This demand has risen the

 price of this product and has made it slightly expensive than other

 regular khussas available in the market.

MULTAN FORT

he Fort site now looks as a part of the city because instead of the 

river it is now separated by a road which looks more like a bazar 

and remains crowded throughout the day.Nobody knows when 

Multan Fort came into being but it was there and it was admired 

and desired by kings and emperors throughout centuries’. It was

 considered as one of the best forts of the sub-continent from the

 defense as well as architectural points of view. 

MAZARS/SHRINES

Shah Yousaf Gardez

                             

Shrine of Muhammad Yousaf Gardezi is just inside the Bohar Gate.

 It is a rectangular dome less building decorated with glazed tiles, a 

work of considerable beauty.

Bahauddin Zakria

The prime attraction of the Fort area is the Mausoleum of Sheikh

 Baha-udDin Zakariya (the ornament of the Faith) and Sheikh 

Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fath, (pillar of the World).The Mausoleum was

 almost completely ruined during the siege of 1848, but was soon 

afterwards restored by the Muslims.

Bibi Pak Daman

Bibi Pak Daman was a princess and as per her will, she was buried

 in the garden of her home, the palace. Now after 900 years the 

palace become a grave yard and her grave is also there, which is 

now the most famous grave of Multan.

Shah Shams

He passed away in 1276 AD and the shrine was built by his 

grandson in 1 330 AD. It was rebuilt by one of his followers in 171 

8 AD. It is generally believed that Shah Shams Tabrez performed 

many miracles. So much so that he once begged the sun to come 

down and the luminary moved so much near that the fish held in 

the hand of Shah Shams was roasted.

Shah Rukn-e-Alam

The Mazar of Rukn-i-Alam is the glory of multan. When the city is

 approached from any side the most prominent thing which can be

 seen from miles all around is a huge dome. This dome is the Shrine

 of Sheikh Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fath commonly known by the title 

Rukn-e-Alam (pillar of the world). The tomb is located on the 

south-West side of the Fort premises.

WEATHER

Multan is one of the hottest cities of the country. It features an arid 

climate with very hot summers and cold winters. The city witnesses

 some of the most extreme temperatures in the country. Recorded-

breaking highest temperature of 50 °C (122 °F) was recorded on 27

 May 2010.

 INDUSTRIES

Pakistan has dynamic, vigorous and export oriented textile industry 

that has an overwhelming impact on economy. Textile being largest 

industrial sector generates the country’s highest export earnings.

 Other industries include fertilizer industries, rubber industries, 

plastic industries etc. However, these industries have been suffering

 a great deal now because of load shedding.

Some main industries include:

Pakarab Fertilizers Company

Three Stars Hosiery Mills

Hussain Industries

Hafeez Ghee and General Mills

Rubber and Plastic industries

Mehr Dastgir Group of Industries

Mahmood group of industries

Sandhu Textiles.

Sunrays Textile Mills Ltd (Indus Group of Companies)

Muzammil Traders (Home Textiles Manufacturers & Exporters)