Postcard from Rawalpindi - Raja Bazaar - chaotic, colourful, with candy floss

Australian Photographer in Pakistan

Instagram @gaynor.shaw.photography

On a glorious winter’s day a group of us headed off to Rawalpindi to visit the Raja Bazaar. Pindi (as the locals call it) is a short 30 minute drive, on good roads, from Islamabad. Islamabad and Pindi could not be more different. Pindi is noisy, busy and very colourful - a photographers paradise. There are so many shops, taxis, rickshaws, buses, carts, motorbikes, and people, lots of people. Pindi has a population of over 2 million and it seemed that everyone single one of them was at the Bazaar with us!

Raja Bazaar is the oldest bazaar in Pindi and covers many smaller bazaars. Areas within the bazaar cover everything from clothing to electronics to food to car parts. We visited the clothing district and walked along narrow alleys that became even narrower, that twisted and turned, up stairs and down stairs. It was good going with someone who knew their way around as it would have been very easy to get lost. It would also be very easy to lose track of time as you admire all that’s on offer, look for bargains and talk to the friendly store holders.

Go early in the morning to avoid the crowds, wear comfortable shoes and get ready to haggle for a bargain.

Postcard from Islamabad - Pakistan Monument - symbol of unity

Photographer in Pakistan

Pakistan Monument, Shakarparian Hills, Islamabad

As the sun was setting on Saturday I visited the Pakistan Monument located in the Shakaparian Hills. There were lots of people around enjoying the view and the wonderful weather. On the drive up to the monument there were families having picnics and enjoying horse and camel rides, fairy floss and balloons.

The monument represents Pakistani unity and is based on Mughal architecture with four large and three smaller petals. The large petals represent four different cultures - Punjabi, Balochi, Sindhi and Pakhtun. The three smaller petals represent minorities, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Balistan. In the centre is a crescent and granite star, the symbols on the Pakistan Flag. The art work on each of the larger petals show famous landmarks and historical figures. On two walls leading up to the monument there are handprints from all the people that worked on the building, a beautiful tribute.

The monument has great views over Islamabad and next time I will leave more time to sit and admire the view and visit the attached museum.

Postcard from Islamabad - Pakistani Handicrafts - colour and yet more colour

Photographer in Pakistan

I was lucky enough to attend a handicraft fair at the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad on Sunday. I was expecting to see some traditional handicrafts but I was not expecting to see women demonstrating delicate needlework or to see some wonderfully modern textiles on display. I stood for some time and watched a Kashmiri women embroider a shawl. She worked so quickly and deftly and she seemed amused by my attention and numerous questions.

At the fair were handicrafts from across Pakistan: silk rugs; bronze vases, carved slate, pottery, trinkets and more. I would love to visit the places where some of these handicrafts are made and see the processes used for each one. For now I was happy to browse the stalls and get an idea of the variety of traditional handicrafts made across Pakistan.

In case you are wondering I bought one shawl but I could have bought so many more!

My one purchase - detail from a beautiful woollen shawl with hand embroidery of leaves and flowers from Kashmir

Postcard from Islamabad - Pakistan Railways Museum, Golra Sharif

Photographer in Pakistan

On another cold and foggy day we drove to Golra Sharif, about a forty-five minute drive, to see the Pakistan Railways Museum. We were lucky enough to have the curator of the museum, a young archeologist, to show us around and provide a very informative background to the pieces held by the museum.

The museum has both train carriages and artefacts from when the British first built the station in 1881. The museum has railway items from clocks to crockery to carriages.

I was particularly interested in the historical carriages, Saloon no.38 that carried the last Viceroy of India Lord Mountbatten and also Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Saloon no.5, the royal saloon, a gift of the Maharaja of Jodhpur to his daughter on her wedding in 1888.

I also learnt about Major S.M. Rafi, who commanded a train during partition in 1947 and safely took Muslim refugees from India to Pakistan. He cleverly thwarted numerous attacks and locked each carriage to ensure the refugees safety. The key is on display in the museum.

The Museum is on one of Pakistan’s main train lines and trains come through regularly so look both ways before crossing the railway tracks! Even if you’re not interested in trains you will enjoy the social history in a well maintained museum underneath some amazing old banyan trees.

Major S.M. Rafi and his life saving key

Postcard from Islamabad - Fatima Jinnah Park

Photographer in Pakistan

Monument - Fatima Jinnah Park

Islamabad is a planned city, split into different zones. It is an easy city to get around as each sector is given a letter and a number. Each residential sector covers a block, an area of approximately 2km by 2km.

F9 is given over entirely to Fatima Jinnah Park. The park has lots of walking paths through natural grasslands and trees. As I went out early on a cold and foggy morning it was eerily beautiful with dew gathering on leaves and branches, trees and park benches were opaque in the fog.

As it was cold and because the park is large I hardly saw another person. The few people I did see were jogging or walking briskly to keep warm.

I also came across three women cutting firewood. I didn’t speak to them but I am guessing that the firewood will be used for cooking, keeping warm and perhaps some of it will be sold.

I will return to Fatima Jinnah Park, when the weather is a little warmer.

Australian bottlebrush - a beautiful reminder of home

Postcard from Karachi - Clifton Beach

Welcome to my first blog.  I am a photographer and I have recently arrived in Pakistan from Australia.  I’m living in Islamabad but I am hoping that I will have the opportunity to explore many different parts of the country.  One of the first places I was lucky enough to visit was Karachi.

 There is a big difference between my home town of Canberra, Australia and Karachi.  Canberra’s population is nearly 400,000 and is an inland city surrounding by the bush.  Karachi’s population is nearly 15 million and is next to the coast.  I was not ready for the noise, people, and yet more people!

 I was brought up next to the coast in Australia so one of the first places I wanted to visit was Clifton Beach.  Clifton beach is nothing like the beaches I grew up with.  The day I visited was in the middle of summer and the weather was very hot and humid.  The day was overcast and it was almost as if the sand matched the colour of the sea and the sky.  While the sand and sea were grey there was colour and movement everywhere else.  I have never been to a beach where there were so many camels (yes camels!), beach buggies, horses, and food vendors.  A fantastic opportunity for a photographer. 

 I will return to Karachi and would love to know if you live in Karachi or have recently visited and know of places that I should visit the next time I return.