Chitral
35°53′N 71°48′E / 35.883°N 71.800°E
Chitral
چترال | |
|---|---|
 Ataliq bazaar, Chitral | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  NWFP |
| Municipal Corporation | 1969 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 14,850 km2 (5,730 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,100 m (3,600 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 20,000 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Area code | 0943 |
| Website | http://www.chitraltoday.com (Chitral Today) www.chitraltimes.com |
Chitral or Chatrāl (Urdu: چترال), translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River (also called Chitral River). The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, 25,289 ft (7,708 m) high. It has a population of 20,000, while the district (of 14,833 km² or 5,727 sq mi), has a population of 300,000. The altitude of the valley is 3,700 ft (1,100 m).
Geography
The easiest access to Chitral is in the southwest along the Chitral/Kunar valley towards Jalalabad. This route is open all year and provides direct access to Kabul. However the Pakistan–Afghanistan border (Durand Line) prevents this being used as an internal route to Peshawar and the south. The other routes are over mountain passes. To the south, the Lowari Pass (3,200 m or 10,499 ft) leads 365 km (227 mi) to Peshawar. In the north, the easiest route during summer runs over the Broghol Pass (3,798 m or 12,460 ft) to Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, however during winter this route is usually closed. To the east, there is a 405 km (252 mi) route to Gilgit over the 3,719 m (12,201 ft) Shandur Pass. And in the west, the Dorah Pass provides an additional route to Afghanistan. The territory is home to rare falcons and the snow leopard, and is cut off by snow from the rest of the country for six months a year, a problem soon to be relieved by the completion of the Lowari Tunnel which will reduce transit time to Chitral as well as allow the district to be connected to the rest of the country even during the cold winter months.
Languages
The main languages spoken in this area of Pakistan are Khowar and about 13 other dialects. The people of the Kalash Valley speak the Kalash language. Urdu is widely spoken and understood in major towns and to some extent Pashto are also spoken.
Population
The main tribe, the Khow, speak Khowar (or Chitrali), one of the Dardic languages, which is also spoken in parts of Yasin, Gilgit, Ghizer and Swat. Pashto language is also spoken and understood by some in the city. Chitral is known for the famous Kalash tribe polytheist native inhabitants that ruled the region for centuries later invaded by "Khow". The Kalasha reside in an enclave of three remote valleys west of Ayun, which is ten miles (16 km) down from Chitral town. The Chitral culture is Islamic and contrasts considerably with the urban cities of Pakistan as well as the adjacent district of Gilgit. Women are nearly invisible except to their male relatives and other women. They avoid walking the streets of the town, so men or children do most of the shopping. Travel requires the company of a close male relative and sometimes the wearing of a burqa.[1] There is also a sizeable population of Nuristanis, Tajiks[citation needed] and Uzbeks[citation needed] most of whom arrived from Afghanistan in the late 1980s.[citation needed]
Sport
Chitral is a sport loving town. Unlike the rest of the country where cricket dominates, Polo is most popular sport with football being the most played sport. A number of sport festivals and tournaments are held throughout the year. This includes the famous Shandur polo tournament held at the highest polo ground in the world, around 15,000 people travel to Shandur for the tournament which lasts around a week. Chitral has also produced some national players such as Muhammad Rasool who plays for the national football team.There are many football clubs in chitral such as united sports club,star football club goldoor, Mogholandeh and many others.
History
Buddhist and Hindu period
Chitral was a Buddhist country before the extention of Islam , and the traces of Buddhism are still found .[2]
Equally interesting are the remains of what may have been a Hindu temple at Chaghan Saray , in the Kunar valley , in the extreme east of Afghanistan .[3]
The northernmost portion of the Durand Line commenced from Chitral where the Indian Chinese and Russian empires met.On the Afghan side of the border most of the population was non-Muslim but by 1900 it had been converted to Islam by Abd al- Rahman's integrationist policy , and the area was renamed Nuristan .[4]
A British garrison, sent from Gilgit to oversee the smooth transition of power to the heir apparent after a ruler was murdered, was besieged in Chitral Fort for over a month in 1895.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Crossing the Great Divide What could an American teaching and living in a remote Pakistani village learn from her students and neighbors? Plenty.", Cara Anna, Special to The Plain Dealer. The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio, January 23, 2005. pg. 11
- ^ E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936 By M Th Houtsma, T W Arnold, A J WensinckEdition: reprint, illustrated Published by BRILL, 1993 Page 863 ISBN 9004097961, 9789004097964
- ^ The Afghans By Willem Vogelsang Edition: illustrated Published by Wiley-Blackwell, 2002 Page 184 ISBN 0631198415, 9780631198413
- ^ Pakistan and the emergence of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan By Rizwan Hussain Page 51
References
- Decker, Kendall D. (1992) Languages of Chitral http://www.ethnologue.com/show_work.asp?id=32850
- Durand, Col. A. (1899), The Making of a frontier
- Leitner, G. W. (1893): Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893: Being An Account of the History, Religions, Customs, Legends, Fables and Songs of Gilgit, Chilas, Kandia (Gabrial) Yasin, Chitral, Hunza, Nagyr and other parts of the Hindukush, as also a supplement to the second edition of The Hunza and Nagyr Handbook. And An Epitome of Part III of the author’s “The Languages and Races of Dardistan.” First Reprint 1978. Manjusri Publishing House, New Delhi.
