Hunza's silent prestige - Altit Fort

 

Altit-fort-hunza (image by Google)

Altit Fort used to be on pinnacle of my to-see list, I had been advised it would be the fine location to research the origins of its people. While staying at a lodge in Hunza I met Jasim, neighborhood information who became out to be an excellent assist in my quest.

The valley's inhabitants are the Burusho — they declare to be the descendants of Greek troopers who have been a phase of Alexander the Great's army. The equal is additionally in many instances generic about the Pakhtuns of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The human beings of the historical town of Altit are stated to be the descendants of the modern agricultural Turkic tribe of Huns from the Persian Empire, A.D forty-seven It is believed that the first title of the town used to be Hunukushal, which means the village of Huns. Considering their combined ancestry, it is no surprise that the locals have such putting features.

The exceptional Altit Fort was once constructed by using the Mirs (ruling family) of Hunza as a show of strength to the Mirs of Nagar (twin state) and has stood tall in the front of Karakoram because of the eleventh century.

Not solely has it survived many assaults from aggressors however additionally withstood several earthquakes for the reason that it was once built, possibly making it one of the most awesome architectural constructions of its time.

Looking at this colossal structure, developed on the pinnacle of an excessive cliff, I used to be struck with awe at the variety of effort and architectural genius that went into finishing it. Keeping in thought the science of the time, it is unthinkable that an assignment like this was once even workable in the eleventh century.

A testimony of superior engineering, the walled citadel is the strongest shape of its time and is regarded to be the birthplace and capital of Hunza city.

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e is over 1,000 ft above the Hunza River, and its sole tower regarded as the shikari Tower (hunters' tower) used to be constructed strategically to screen the whole land, mainly at some stage in warfare time. The Hunza valley used to be underneath steady chance from Kaizen Rus (Russian) and Chinese troops of that time.

Standing on the pinnacle of the tower gave me a concept of how significantly necessary its positioning was. With such excessive elevation, all of the surrounding mountains, woods, and river flow ought to be without difficulty monitored, giving the military of Altit metropolis an honest margin to put together for their defense.

During a dialog with one of the locals, I discovered that the tower was once now not solely used to hold an eye out for threats, but, used be additionally used to throw off prisoners who have been serving their death sentences.

The citadel grew to be controversial some four hundred years after its construction. In the late 1540’s a dispute between two royal brothers of Hunza’s royal family, Prince Shah Abbas, aka, Shabbos, and Prince Ali Khan noticed the upward push of some other citadel referred to as the 'Baltit Fort' which quickly grew to become the new capital of Hunza.

Prince Ali, the youthful brother made Altit Fort his robust maintenance and launched offensives in opposition to his elder brother. Legend has it that Ali used to be buried alive in opposition to a pillar internal the watch tower through Shabbos.

In 1891, British forces marched on the streets of Altit, in an strive to take away any manageable Russian involvement in the region. As per British norms of occupation, Hunza remained in the palms of the relied-on half of the brother of the ex-chief.

Even after the Indo-Pak partition, Hunza was once ruled as a princely nation however succession persisted solely until 1972 when socio-politic reforms took away energy from the royal family. Altit Fort used be later proficient to the Aga Khan Foundation in 1990. Their cultural carrier branch has achieved a commendable job in restoring the citadel which has been working as a vacationer museum in view that 2007.

In its beforehand days, the fortress used to be surrounded by way of the settlers of the town and merchants who would convey items from throughout the world making their way to the land from China thru the historic Silk route, and soon it grew to be a cultural hub of the region.

It is splendid to notice that traces of historic existence are nevertheless evident in Altit Fort as I appeared at the lands from atop the shikari tower and took a stroll internal the fort.

As I strolled the interior of the fort, I was once delighted to locate the vessels and utensils used through the royal household on display.

The skillfully crafted wood doors, home windows, and stairs have been restored to truthfully, albeit silently inform the centuries of historical testimonies that they have been witness to.