STEVE RAZZETTI MOUNTAIN PHOTOGRAPHY AND JOURNALISM

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD!

"LONG LIVE PAKISTAN!"

A miscellany of images of a country that has long been a favourite destination of mine

Adjacent to the enormous Derawar Fort in the Cholistan Desert near the city of Bahawalpur, these are the tombs of the old royal familyCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Canon EOS 500, 35mm, Fuji Velvia
   
This mosque was built in 1849 for the Nawab of Bahawalpur's personal holy manCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvi
     
  
Detail of the tilework on this beautiful old masjid, built in 1735Canon EOS 500, 80mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Young boys at the Koranic school in the Eid Gah masjid, MultanCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
The faithful gathering for Eid prayers in the courtyard of this fabulous mosque. It was built in 1674 by the Moghal Emperor Aurangzeb.
     
  
In front of Ranjit Singh's tomb, these sweet-vendors do a roaring trade with the many Sikh pilgrims who flock to the city to visit this edifice and the nearby memorial to Guru Arjan. Ranjit Singh was known as the "One Eyed Lion of the Punjab", and ruled Punjab and Kashmir from 1799 to 1839.Canon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Affectionately known throughout Pakistan as Quaid-i-Azam - Father of the Nation - Jinnah was the first head of state after independence in 1947Canon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Standing on the crest of the legendary Khyber Pass, the most important and strategic link between Pakistan and Afghanistan for centuriesCanon EOS 500, 35mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
Dusk over Kipling's LahoreCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Pakistan and India may not see eye to eye on many things, but they do share passions for cricket and the cinemaCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
A fine example of the art of the sign-writer - each of these enormous displays is hand-paintedCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
A detail of this fabulous mausoleum, which dates from 1498Canon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Uchchh Sharif - Holy Uchchh - lies at the confluence of the Chenab and Sutlej rivers in the Punjab, and it was a catastrophic flood of these two rivers that partly destroyed these beautiful tombs over 200 years ago.Canon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
A view showing the devastation wreaked by the floods two centuries agoCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
In the Hazuri Bagh gardens, next to Lahore Fort, wrestlers give displays to an incredulous publicBronica ETRS, 75mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Wrestlers with their ustad (teacher) in the Hazuri Bagh, LahoreCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Canon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
A hat shop in the old city of Peshawar. Most of the topis on show are the tribal caps of the Affridi PathansCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Passengers on the Mashabrum Tours direct bus service from Rawalpindi to Skardu. This non-stop journey, up the fabled Karakoram Highway, covers a distance in excess of 600km and takes between 18 and 30 hours, depending on the condition of the road and that of the driver...Canon A1, 28mm, Kodachrome 64
   
Sitting by the entrance to the mausoleum of Rukn-i-Alam, these men sell rose-petals which Sufi's scatter on the tombs of their saintsCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
This fabulous mausoleum, built in the fourteenth century, has been described by Professor Ahmed Nabi Khan as the climax of the Central Asian and Arab influences on the Islamic Architecture of PakistanCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
A detail showing the exquisite tilework and faience mosaic decorating the upper storiesCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Multan is the centre of Sufism in Pakistan, and in honour of each saint, an annual festival or Urs takes place at their mausoleum on the anniversary of his / her death. Given that there are over 400 such tombs in Multan, it can be deduced that singers of Qawals (the mystic chants of the sufis, popularised by the likes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) are seldom out of workCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
Vegetable sellers in the old city of PeshawarCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
The entrance hallCanon EOS 500, 35mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Hidden beneath all this Lahore embellishment there lurks a vintage British Bedford truck. Wagons such as this are common on the roads of Pakistan, especially on the Karakoram Highway in the north.Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
Taken during the spring festival of Jhoshi in the Rumbur Valley, Chitral, NWFPCanon EOS 500, 28mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Everywhere vehicles stop on the Karakoram Highway, local people provide sustainance to travellers. These boys are selling roasted corn-on-the-cobNikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Expedition porters travelling up the Braldu valley to the roadhead for K2 at Askole villageNikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
On a jeep in BaltistanNikon FM2, 50mm, Fuji Velvia
   
Nikon FM2, 24mm, Fuji Velvia
   
A member of a community of fishermen living on the Indus river at PanjnadBronica ETRSi, 75mm, Fuji Velvia
     
  
A member of a cummunity of fishermen living on the Indus river at Panjnad. The herons are used to catch fish.Bronica ETRSi, 75mm, Fuji Velvia
   
At Rawalpindi Cantonment stationBronica ETRSi, 75mm, Fuji Velvia