Thatta

Thatta or Thatto (Urdu: ٹھٹہ, Sindhi: ٺٽو) is an historic town of 22,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments are listed among the World Heritage Sites. Due to its proximity to the huge port of Karachi, the picturesque old town is frequented by visitors, especially on weekendsThe city, formerly commanding the delta of the Indus, was the capital of Lower Sindh from the 14th century. During the ruling period of Soomro Tribe Thatta was the capital of Sindh for 95 years. Between 1592-1739, it was governed in the name of the Mughal emperors of Delhi. In 1739 however following the Battle of Karnal the province was ceded to Nadir Shah of Persia, after which Thatta fell into neglect. Thatta may be the site of ancient Patala,the main port on the Indus in the time of Alexander the Great. Siltation has caused the Indus to change its course many times since the days of Alexander, and the site of Patala has been subject to much conjecture. Ahmad Hasan Dani, director of the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations, Islamabad, concluded: “There has been a vain attempt to identify the city of Patala. If ‘Patala’ is not taken as a proper name but only refers to a city, it can be corrected to ‘Pattana’, that is, city or port city par excellence, a termapplied in a later period to Thatta, which is ideally situated in the way the Greek historians describe”.

 Thatta's monuments include the Jama Mosque (also Shah Jahan Mosque and Badshahi Mosque), built by Shah Jahan in 1647-49 and lined with glazed tiles. This edifice has 101 domes and is designed in such a way that imam's voice can reach every corner of this building without the help of any loudspeaker or other device. There are also the tombs of Jam Nizamuddin, Satihoo Seven Soomro Sisters (reigned in 1461-1509), several Tarkhan rulers and Mughal officials. A vast old necropolis with thousands of graves may be found at the nearby Makli Hills.Thatta is historically an important region of Sindh which has served as a centre of literature, religious ideologies and socio political clashes. The amalgamated past of this area made its geographic locations into an unforgettable scenery. Makli, the heart of interior Sindh is counted among one of the largest necropolis in the world. Located a few kilometers away from Thatta , Makli is truly the place where history starts to speak about its immaculate past and the legends and myths it has undertaken. Makli is an unforgettable visual experience with the most vibrant archaeological sites in Pakistan; it covers about 15-1/2 square kilometers. The mausoleums and [[tombs in Makli are one of the greatest ruins of Sindh and also dictate a lot about Sindh's communal structure from 14 to 18th century. Apart from the mausoleums of Jam Nizam al-Din and Jan Beg Takhan, Makli has undertaken a lot of Sufis, warriors, poets, intellectuals. The artistic monuments at Makli show proof of Islamic ideologies and the Hindu mythology as well, which in itself is a great documentation of the socio cultural past of Sind.The huge graves are made of solid rock and the mosuleums of the sun baked brick with different kinds of Quranic verses embossed on them. Another historical landmark that resides in Thatta is the Shah Jahan Masjid built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, which is one of the most beautiful gifts given to Sindh by the Mughal emperor. This mosque was built on the orders of Shah Jahan, for the people of Thatta because they welcomed him with open hearts when his father died.The Shah Jahan Mosque is a great example of highly defined tile work. In total this mosque has 33 arches and 93 domes which are of different sizes which adds the flavor to its beauty. White and Blue tiles of glowing texture have been put together in such a manner that it looks like a beautiful mosaic. The most surprising fact about this mega structure is that unlike other Mughal buildings such as Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, this building has negligible amount of pink sandstone in it. The characteristic that makes this mosque unique is that it has no minarets in it and it only has one dome which lies in the central prayer hall.Walking through the mosque if your eyes move towards the inside of the rooftop, then you cant' stop staring and only one thing comes to your mind that only a genius like Shahjehan can think of such a beauty , who also envisioned the Taj Mahal which is counted among the wonders of the world. Peeping through the landmarks of interior Sindh.