Located at the gateway of Central Asia, Chitral has given passage to the invaders of different civilisations and origins in the past. The district has a myriad of historical places depicting its culture, civilisation, resistance to foreign invasions, love and superstitions.

Such historical places are spread across the district whose number runs into hundreds in the form of mountain terrains, relics of castles, stones of colossal volume, rocks, hillocks, playing fields, a portion of pasture, river banks and shrines of the saints coming from the Central Asia for preaching.

The historical sites are said to have a great leverage to attract tourists, thereby promoting eco-tourism in the area, but those related with the industry lament that not a single step has ever been taken in this direction by the department of tourism and culture both in the province and the centre. They also apprehended that with the passage of time, the information about the heritage will fade away and finally obliterate from the memories of the local people as no catalogue has been prepared enlisting the historical sites.

The folklores of Chitral are associated with a number of the sites, but it is unfortunate to note that the folktales are also eroding from the memories of people for want of transformation into written form and recording.

The polo ground of Shaghore village on Garam Chashma Road still reminds us of the bravery of an old lady who immortalised herself in the annals of Chitral by challenging the ruler for avenging the murder of her son. The mother of Begal, the slain young man, had falsified the notion ‘thy name is frailty’ by putting the ruler to rout. The pedestrian suspension bridge at Shogram on Booni Road, reminds every passerby of the love story of the saint Baba Siyar whose songs were sung by the mothers to lull them into sleep.

A tourist will evince a deep interest in the bridge of 18th century AD and the tomb of the saint situated in the village of Shogram on the other side of the river. The pasture of Shandur enkindled the epic story of yet another old lady in Brok valley of Laspur whose name is repeated in the oft-sung folk song even today.

Some sites are related to the rulers of the middle age while others belong to British era who had arrived here in 1895 AD. The sites of Chokol Wakht, Jutilusht, Kalak and Kaghlusht remind us of how the people offered stiff resistance to the British army against their expansionist campaign. The heap of boulders on Chitral-Booni Road at Kalak testifies to the bravery of the locals who contained the march of the British Army by rolling the boulders from the higher altitude where they had entrenched themselves. Many of the sites remind us of how a ruthless bloodshed took place in the war of succession between the princes of different dynasties. The fields of Sholeri Kaghlusht, Zanorian Lusht, Kutoo Gaz in different parts of the district show how the rulers waded from blood to the throne and did not shrink from putting to sword their own real brothers, uncles and nephews.

A small red rock located in the middle of Kaghlusht wasteland is associated with the gory incident of massacre of the members of Ganju family at the hand of the ruler of the day and it is believed that the rock had absorbed the blood of the innocent.

A number of the historical sites belonged to old age whose relics are still preserved and are said to be archaeological treasures where excavation can lead to discovery of more relics. The relics of the forts at the mounds of Muzhgole, Brep, Lot Koh, Sheshi Koh and Ashrait tell us how the rulers of the time had planned to make their lives comfortable. The ruins of Muzhgole fort of 300 AD showed that the ruler had managed water supply to the fort from a distance of eight kilometers with the help of horns of markhor. The room of a house built in 18th century AD in Reshun village of upper Chitral with wooden beams and pillars of about four feet diameter depicting the architecture of those days can arouse the interest of the tourists if it is declared a heritage by compensating its occupants. The room even did not develop a single crack during the devastating earthquake of Oct 2015.

The valley of Chitral was once ruled by the Kalash people who are known for their unique traditions. The period of their rule could be traced back to the 10th century AD. The ruins of the forts of Kalash princes are found in different parts of the district and would attract those interested in knowing about the origin of Kalash people. The Kalash valleys of Bumburate, Birir and Rumbur have innumerable historical sites, but these are subjected to obliteration with the passage of time.

The bridge connecting eastern and western parts of Chitral town has been named after a Kalash ruler, Chew who annexed the northern part into the Kalash.

The flocks of Sufi saints thronged this area from the Central Asia and Afghanistan to spread the message of Islam and they settled here permanently. A considerable number of them were the preachers of high echelon and were known for their mysticism. After their death, their followers raised their shrines which can be seen in dozens of the villages across the district. Such shrines can be of great interest for the tourists if these are renovated and information is made available about their lives.

When contacted, the founding chairman of Chitral Association for Mountain Areas Tourism, Shahzada Sirajul Mulk, told this correspondent that the number of tourists would increase by 50 per cent if the historical places were developed and made conspicuous.

Expressing his dismay over the deterioration of historical sites, he said that very few tour operators could respond to the queries of tourists about the historical places. He said that the British rulers had written a lot about the area’s historical heritage and there was need for translating and printing such material in several languages.

He deplored the ministry of tourism for not compiling a catalogue of the historical sites of Chitral.

“Except establishing some hotels the government has done nothing for promotion of tourism in Chtiral,” he said. Mr Mulk also censured the Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for its failure to promote tourism in Chitral and confining its activities to holding of Shandur festival only. He said that there was no problem of accessibility as almost all the historical sites of Chitral were located near roads.

Published in Dawn October 2nd, 2016