Historical Background of Baltit Fort-Hunza In olden times a number of small independent states existed in the history of Northern Areas of Pakistan. Among them Hunza and Nager were the traditional rival states, situated on opposite sides of the Hunza (kanjut) river. The rulers of these two states, known as Thámo / Mirs (Thάm=S), built various strongholds to express their power.
The Hunza rulers initially resided in the Altit Fort, but later as a result of a conflict between the two sons of the ruler Sultan, Shah Abbas (Shάboos) and Ali Khan (Aliqhάn), Shaboos shifted to the Baltit Fort, making it the capital seat of Hunza. The power struggle between the two brothers eventually resulted in the death of younger one, and so Baltit Fort further established itself as the prime seat of power in the Hunza state.
The rich beauty of Baltit Fort can be traced to over seven hundred 700 years ago. Ayasho II, Tham / Mir of Hunza in the early 15th fifteenth century married Princess Shah Khatoon (Sha Qhatun) from Baltistan (In Moghul history Baltistan is called Tibet Khurd mean, little Tibet), and was the first to modify the face of Altit and, subsequently Baltit Fort. Baltistan meaning land of Balti people had a very strong cultural and ethnical relation with the Ladakh territory of India then. Consequently, the structure of Baltit Fort was influenced by the Ladakhi / Tibetan architecture, with some resemblance to the Potala palace in Lahasa. Then additions, renovations and changes to the building were being made through the centuries by the long line of rulers of the Hunza that followed.
A veritable treasure house for ancient forts, the Northern Areas of Pakistan lost most of its glorious built heritage around the 19th century as a result of the destructive attacks by the Maharja of Kashmir.
However, in this regard people of Hunza were exceptionally fortunate to successfully defend against the invasions of Maharaja Kashmir four times.
One of the biggest changes in the structure of Baltit Fort came with the invasion of British in December 1891. Tham / Mir Safdarali Khan, ruler of Hunza his wazir Dadu (Thara Baig III), fled to Kashgar (China) for political asylum with their fellows and families. With the conquest of Hunza and Nager states by the British forces in December 1891, the fortified wall and watch towers of the old Baltit village and watch towers of the Baltit Fort on its north-western end were also demolished as desired by the British authorities.
The British installed his younger brother Tham / Mir Sir Muhammad Nazim Khan K.C.I.E, as the ruler of Hunza state in September 1892 {Ref: History of Northern Areas of Pakistan by Prof. A.H.Dani, Page:285 Pub: Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore Pakistan www.sang-e-meel.com, Reprinted: 2007}.
During his reign, Tham / Mir Nazeem Khan made several major alterations to the Baltit Fort. He demolished a number of rooms of third floor and added a few rooms in the British colonial style on the front elevation, using lime wash and colour glass panel windows.Baltit Fort remained officially inhabited until 1945, when the last ruler of Hunza, Mir Muhammad Jmamal Khan, moved to a new palace further down the hill, where the present Mir of Hunza Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan (Current Chief Executive of Northern Areas) and his family are residing.
With no proper authority entrusted to care for it, the Fort was exposed to the ravages of time and over the years its structure weakened and began to deteriorate. His Highness Aga Khan IV initiated the restoration efforts for Baltit Fort in 1990, when Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan the son of last ruler of Hunza, Tham / Mir Muhammad Jamal Khan and his family generously donated the Fort to the Baltit Heritage Trust, a public charity formed for the explicit purpose of owning and maintaining the Fort.
Restoration of Baltit FortThe restoration undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in Geneva in association with the Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan (Pakistan), took six years to complete.
The project was supported by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture as the main donor through its Historic Cities Support Programme, as well as by the Getty Grant Program (USA), NORAD (Norway) and the French Government. The restored Fort, resplendent in its regal glory was inaugurated on September 29, 1996 in the presence of His Highness the Aga Khan IV and the president of Pakistan Farooq Ahmad Khan Laghari. It is now operated and maintained by the Baltit Heritage Trust and is open to visitors. Preservation at its best, the Baltit Fort serves as a perfect example of culture restored and preserved for the future generations of the mountain people.
History of Altit Fort Hunza.jpg)
Introduction :The majestic historical Altit fort is center of attraction due to its architectural design and strategic location. Altit is one of the oldest settlements of Hunza valley. During the time when Hunza was under the central government of Gilgit principality, Altit served as the capital and sitting place of Hunza. Altit is the birth place of the HunzaKingdom and Altit fort is the first fort of the region. During early period of former Hunza state Altit was the capital. The artisans from Baltistan who accompanied the wife of Mir Ayasho II constructed this fort during 1540s A.D.The fort has been constructed in six different stages by using various natural levels of the rock. The construction has been made right on the edge of a sheer rock cliff that drops 1000 feet straight down to the Hunza River.
Restoration :
In the beginning it was built as a palace, soon after the addition of the watch tower a defensive architectural element it transformed to a fort. There is great possibility that different stages of the fort have been constructed during different times because the actual age of the fort is said to be more than 800 years. However, the date of construction on the fort tower is written as 955 A.H/1548 A.D thus the age is calculated as 458 years. This fort is said to be around 50-100 years older than the Baltit Fort. When the state capital transferred to Altit it remained vacant and occasionally used as a guest house. The fort was in disposal of Raja Amin Khan who donated it to Aga Khan Cultural Services, Pakistan (AKCSP) in 2001. AKCSP after some emergency repairs is now working to preserve this historical heritage.
Architecture View :
"The fort is sited on a two rocks; the eastern rock is higher as compared to the western rock. The fort has been constructed in six different stages by using the various natural levels of the rock. The first level is located before the western side edge of the rock, which is containing a two floor building built in the first stage of the construction.The second level, contains a single floor building which was also constructed in the first stage of construction. These were built over 800 years ago. A three floor watch tower was constructed during the second and third stages of construction while the storage space was constructed during the third stage of construction. The mosque was constructed during the fourth stage of construction. A grain storage was constructed during the fifth stage of construction. In the sixth stage of construction the guest rooms were constructed after removing the grain storage located on the eastern side of the rock. Narrow corridors are used for accessing the construction at lower levels, while the mosque the storage area and the guest rooms can be easily accessed from the watch tower.
Bird Eye View of Altit Fort
The Main entrance faces Ulter and opens into the ground floor narrow dark corridor which leads to a space with two small storage spaces inside it located on the east and western side. The main space contains a rectangular structure which physically seems a supporting structure made of rubble stone and cribbage frames has a story related to it. The story is of a prince who has been buried in standing position inside the structure; he was killed by his father after believing of his son's involvement in a plan against his kingdom. The ground floor corridor further leads westward to a stair made of rubble stone masonry which connects it to the first floor. The first floor contains the royal kitchen which has the richest carving patterns on the column and the capitals. This kitchen used to be full of activities during the cooking of food for the agricultural festivals.
On the eastern side of the Royal Kitchen there is a lobby with a skylight containing the main door of the corridor which is laid out north south. The space located at the northern edge of the corridor is the royal room which is a traditional house with the spaces for sleeping, sitting, cooking, and two small storage spaces, a toilet and storage space on the south side of the room. The space at the south edge is the Royal Rani's (Queen) Room, this has a fire place in the north wall and it has the traditional roof structure with the rotated square. From the north edge of the corridor further is the corridor which is laid out east west ward leads to stairs made of rubble stone masonry.
After climbing these stairs there is the three floor watch tower constructed. The storage space is located at the south side of the tower and it is located at the higher level of the rock. The mosque, the royal throne and the guest rooms are at the north side of the watch tower with a minor level difference. Structurally the watch tower is rich in features containing cribbage work and mud brick infill, with windows looking in all directions. The royal throne is placed in front of the mosque on the eastern side with a panoramic view of the Altit settlement."
The fort is being restored by the Historic Cities Support Programme.
Royal Fort- Lahore
Although most parts of the Royal Fort were constructed around 1566 A.D. by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar the Great, there is evidence that a mud fort was in existence here in 1021 A.D. as well, when Mahmood of Ghazna invaded this area. Akbar demolished the old mud fort and constructed most of the modern Fort, as we see it today, on the old foundations.
The Royal Fort is rectangular. The main gates are located alongside the centre of the western and eastern walls. Every succeeding Mughal Emperor as well as the Sikhs, and the British in their turn, added a pavilion, palace or wall to the Fort. Emperor Jehangir extended the gardens and constructed the palaces that we see today in the Jehangir’s Quadrangle, while Shah-Jehan added Diwan-e-Khas, Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) and his own Sleeping Chambers. Aurangzeb built the impressive main gate which faces the Hazoori Bagh lying in between the Badshahi Mosque and the Fort. The Famous Sheesh Mahal or Palace of Mirrors is in the north-east corner of the Fort. This is the most beautiful palace in the Fort and is decorated with small mirrors of different colours set.
The part of the wall of the Elephant Steps towards the Fort’s inner gate are scarred by bullet marks, bearing testimony to the Sikh Civil War of 1847 A.D.
Derawar Fort BahawalpurOne of the oldest forts in this part of the former British India Empire, the Derawar Fort history goes back to almost 800 years (this age is disputed though).
The imposing stucture is situated on the edge Cholistan desert on the top of the ruins of ancient Harappan civilization. It has been the ancestral seat of the rulers of Bahawalpur for decades. The present building was built by Abbasi family or the Nawabs in 1733. Its walls are 30m high and there are 40 bastions, 10 on each side. The front area is guarded by a huge defensive tower at the main entrance. The boundaries were constructed from gypsum blocks transported from Uch some 65 kilometers away. The walls are built in mud tiles plastered and fresco painted.
The lofty and rolling battlements made of thin red bricks, ten on each side of the fort are visible from miles around. There are two old vintage guns mounted on pedestals in the dusty courtyard of the Fort.
The buildings inside include the Harem, Subedar's quarters, arsenal and a mosque. There is also a multi-roomed subterranean summer rest house of Nawabs called Sard Khana. The remains of a watchtower, a prison, the granary, a guard house and some 100 inaccessible tunnels and the rumored subterranean chambers with buried treasures of the former rulers.
The once gaily painted rest house or baradari on top of the north-eastern bastion still flies high the flag of the former ruling family of the former Bahawalpur State as a symbol of their authority over the area.
However the fort nowadays is in very perilous condition mainly due to ravages of time and partially due to the negligence of authorities. There are huge ditches in and around the main boundary wall and the gates. Most of buildings have developed huge cracks. The underground cells and wooden structure is now infested with bats and being destroyed by termites. The day doesn’t seem to far away when the whole structure may crumble in one giant sand dune.
History of Shigar Fort The original Shigar Fort Palace (known as Fong-Khar, which in the local Balti language means, "Palace on the Rock"), was built by Hassan Khan, the 20th ruler of the Amacha Dynasty, in the early 17th century. The Amacha family claims to have ruled Shigar for thirty-three generations, with origins in the "Hamacha" tribe of Ganish, Hunza. When the Hamacha tribe was massacred in Hunza, a few of its members managed to flee to Shigar across the Hispar glacial pass, where they gained power and were recognized as the Amacha Dynasty in the 13th century.
Fong-Khar is the last remaining structure associated with the ruling Amacha family. The oldest of them was Khar-e-Dong, the fort whose ruins can still be seen high up on the cliffs overlooking the present site. It is thought that Khar-e-Dong was captured and destroyed by Mughal forces sent by Shah Jehan, in aid of Hassan Khan to regain his throne which was lost to marauding invaders. In all probability, the destruction of Khar-e-Dong necessitated the construction of the present Fong-Khar.
Hassan Khan brought a variety of artisans, gold smiths, carpenters, stone carvers, and textile weavers from Kashmir to Shigar to build his Fort-Palace. This resulted in a blend of Kashmiri-influenced carving and details with local Balti architecture, one of the unique features which make Fong-Khar a significant historical and architectural treasure.
The Fort-Palace is situated in a powerful natural setting, full of dramatic contrasts. The raw natural quality of this scenery, softened by human settlement that began at least two millennia ago, offers strong contrasts between rocky cliffs and cultivated terraces, as well as between the continuous thunder of the rushing river and the quiet spaces within the garden-site and buildings themselves. The steep rocky escarpment forming the background of the palace, the stream passing in front of the complex, and many of the irrigation channels meandering through a well-preserved and authentic settlement, all account for the unique charm of the site.
Architectural SignificanceThe Old Fort-Palace The original Fong-Khar was founded on top of a platform which rises 5m from the ground and partly surrounds a gigantic cone-shaped rock (thus, the origins of the name, Fong-Khar, or "Palace on the Rock"). Although the Old Fort-Palace as it is now restored appears to be one structure, upon closer examination, it is actually a collection of three separate buildings, built adjacent to each other in different times and with different engineering and workmanship. During the restoration of the site, these three structures were identified as Modules I, II, and III.
Module I represents the oldest part of the original structure estimated at 400 years old. It can easily be interpreted as a single, clearly conceived and executed structure, with a distinct and noble architectural expression. Original usage of this structure can be identified through its sequence of rooms including entrance hall, grand audience hall, retiring rooms for the ruler, and kitchen.
Module II is estimated to have been constructed approximately 100 years after the original Fong-Khar, with Module III following another 150 years later. Both Modules II and III were comprised of residential rooms for the royal family, some more elaborate than others.
Old House The building to the south of the Old Fort-Palace is now known as Old House. Its lower floor had accommodated a horse stable, a cattle pen, and storage for animal feed. It appears to have existed as the royal stable for as long as Fong-Khar itself. The upper floor of this structure was added much later by the raja as new residential accommodation when the Old Fort-Palace was abandoned in the middle of the 20th century.
Amacha Garden and Baridari It is not known when this decorative square pool - the central feature of the garden - was built, or what its initial appearance was like. Early in the 20th century, a pavilion was built on the central platform of the pool by Raja Muhammad Adam Khan, the father of the present Raja Muhammad Ali Saba. At the time of the takeover of the site by the conservation team, exquisitely carved marble bases that would have supported free-standing and attached columns could still be found on the central platform. The artistic quality of these marble bases approaches the perfection of Kashmiri buildings of the high Mughal style. Knowing that nothing of a quality approaching that of these column bases was built anywhere else in Shigar at the time the pavilion was built in the early 20th century, one can deduce that the column bases have a provenance in an earlier building.
The Raja's MosqueThe Raja's public mosque is a handsome and ornate building adjacent to the entrance to the complex and is of significant antiquity and artistic value. It is similar in form and ornament to other mosques in the Shigar area: a single four-bayed room with a central column support and a veranda on the eastern side.
The Vision for Shigar Fort ResidenceIn 1999, Fong-Khar was bequeathed to the people of Baltistan by Raja Sahib Mohammad Ali Shah Saba of Shigar and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) was entrusted with its restoration. In a painstaking process lasting over five years at a cost of approximately $1.4 million USD, the entire site was brought back to life following a careful strategy of adaptive re-use and restoration. This strategy would form the foundation for the three-fold mandate of Shigar Fort Residence: Preservation of Cultural Heritage, Socially Responsible Tourism and Economic Development, and Self-Sustaining Operations.
Preservation of Cultural Heritage One of the most important considerations in the entrustment of Fong-Khar to AKTC for restoration was that the project remain true to the original character and architecture of the buildings as much as possible. Much care was taken to identify original use, to adhere to that use or adopt a new use compatible with the original use so that there was minimal impact on the cultural significance of the building.
Socially Responsible Tourism and Economic DevelopmentThe project provided a perfect opportunity to act as a catalyst for comprehensive improvement of the local economy, by generating direct and indirect employment opportunities. Situated in the immediate proximity of a poor and unskilled village population, it was thought that the Shigar Fort Residence project could raise the quality of life in the villages surrounding it, and boost economic enterprises in the bazaar area. This process was to be accompanied by a proactive village upgrading and rehabilitation programme in which micro-finance played an important role.
The idea of promoting a new type of environmentally conscious cultural tourism was decisive for the reuse design of Shigar Fort, both in terms of providing new opportunities to local residents and of ensuring financial self-sustainability for the restored building. With little existing commerce related to tourism, and the resulting lack of pressures on land, the Shigar context was relatively untouched by any major conflict between heritage and development. It was consequently possible to put in place mechanisms linked to social and economic development for appropriate management of cultural, scenic and environmental resources prior to the onset of the pressures of tourism. The establishment of a wide-ranging local institutional base before the commencement of tourism promotion programmes in the region was a part of this strategy.
Self-Sustaining OperationsThe reuse concept for Shigar Fort Residence strikes a balance between, on the one hand, a museal site and, on the other, a very special resort-type guest house offering the unique experience of authentic guest rooms in a historic palace. The ongoing operations of Shigar Fort Residence strive towards long-term self-sustainability providing continuing economic and tourism development for the entire Shigar Valley.
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