Sulaiman Mountains

Satellite image of a part of the Sulaiman Range.

The Sulaiman Mountains (Pashto: د سليمان غرونه), or the Kasai Mountains (Pashto: د كسي غرونه), are a major geological feature of southeastern Afghanistan (Zabul, most of Loya Paktia and Northeastern Kandahar regions), South Waziristan and most of Northern Balochistan province of Pakistan. The Sulaiman Mountains form the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau where the Indus River separates it from the Subcontinent. Bordering the Sulaiman Range to the north are the arid highlands of the Hindu Kush, where more than 50 percent of the lands lie above 2,000 meters. In Balochistan, Pakistan, the most famous peaks of the Sulaiman Mountains are Takht-e-Sulaiman (3,487 meters), the Kasai Ghar (3,444 meters) near Zhob and Zarghun Ghar (3,578 meters) near Quetta.

The Sulaiman Range, and the high plateau to the west and southwest of it, helps form a natural barrier against the humid winds that blow from the Indian Ocean, creating arid conditions across central and southern Afghanistan to the north and west. In contrast, the relatively flat and low-lying Indus delta is situated due east and south of the Sulaiman Mountains. This lush delta is prone to heavy flooding and is mostly uncultivated wilderness.

Range

Rivers that flow from the Sulaiman mountain system include the Dori River and the Gomal River. Takht-e-Sulaiman at 3,483 metres (11,427 ft), Koh-i-Takatu at 3,472 metres (11,391 ft), The Kasai Ghar at 3,444 metres (11,299 ft) and Giandari are some of the mountain peaks in the Sulaiman range. The mountain range runs north in Loya Paktia, close to Ghazni, and meets the Spin Ghar range northeast of Gardez in Paktia province. To the east, the mountain range enters Punjab in Dera Ghazi Khan district, and approaches the Indus River near Mithankot in Rajanpur district of Punjab. The eastern slopes drop very quickly to the Indus River, but towards west, the mountain range drops more gradually to the Sistan Basin.

Vegetation is scarce in the southern slopes. In the central part, wild olives are abundant, and especially in river valleys, there is a high diversity of flora, including ephedra, pistachios and orchards of apples and cherries, as well as wild almonds and junipers. Ziarat District is a tourist destination, famous for its large juniper forests. Further to the north near the Koh-i-Baba mountain range, the higher altitudes of the Sulaiman Mountains are in alpine meadow ecoregion, characterized by meadows and willows, as well as blue pines which cover the summits.

Legends

In Pashtun mythology, one of the highest peaks of the Takht-i Sulaiman, 3,382 metres (11,096 ft) high, is associated with Prophet Solomon. Ibn Battuta names it Koh-i Sulaiman. It is related that Prophet Solomon climbed this mountain and looked out over the land of the Indian subcontinent, which was then covered with darkness, but he turned back without descending into this new frontier, and left only the mountain which is named after him (from Ibn Battuta). According to the local folklore, Prophet Solomon, by exercising his miraculous power, had confined the mischievous Jinns inside it who had refused to obey his command. The evil-spirited Jinns are supposed to remain imprisoned almost all the year, but in Safar, the second month of the Lunar Islamic calendar, they are allowed to go free for a while. During this month, after darkness falls over the region, mothers restrict their children within their homes as a precaution against the evil effects of these Jinns. According to another legend, Noah's Ark alighted in the Takht-i Sulaiman after the Deluge.

Legend says that Qais Abdur Rashid is buried on top of the Kasai Ghar ("Mount of Qais"), located in Zhob District, Balochistan. Some people visit the place and make animal sacrifices, usually a sheep or a goat, at the tomb of Qais as to help feed the poor. A trip to the mountain is undertaken mostly in summer, since from late November until March the snowfall makes it difficult to climb. Nearly all major Pashtun tribes are said to be the progeny of his sons and daughters.

Al-Biruni, who himself lived a large part of his life in the nearby Ghazni, writes of this mountain range in his memoirs as being the western frontier mountains of South Asia and the homeland of the people known as the Afghans or Pashtuns.

See also

• Mountain ranges of Pakistan
• List of mountain ranges of the world
• List of mountains in Pakistan
• List of highest mountains (a list of mountains above 7,200m)
• Fort Munro

References

• Chiltan Adventures Association Balochistan; http://www.caab.20m.com
• Original entry was from the NASA Earth Observatory; [1]
• Sulaiman Range at multimap; [2]

External links

• NASA Earth Observatory page
• Sulaiman Range at multimap