Multan bazaar
In the previous posts we came from Bulgaria, crossed Turkey and Iran, entered Pakistan and traveled near the border with Afghanistan. In this post we describe our adventures in Multan.
23.04
We wake up pretty late. The house where we sleep is covered with dust and there is no furniture. We pitched the bottom part of our tent and it is not bad at all. The friends of the guy who accommodated us, came in the morning and, we spoke about politics for a while and we went out for a walk.
The modern neighbourhood we are in is quite far from down town and it is not so dusty and noisy, and there are lots of luxury shops and cafés as well as many shopping malls. The situation at the centre is quite opposite – the traffic is total madness and there are no new shops or cafés. At the city there is a dome of a Sufi (mystic movement of the Islam) saint who still, up to this date is visited by pilgrims. Some structures are 800 years old – Sufism still lives in Multan.
Dolat Gate
The feeling of not knowing where you will sleep and what wonders you will see during the day, where will you encounter yourself, is indescribable. When every single day brings you endless surprises and is totally different from the day before, and the world around you looks like some fairy tale written in an old book – this is the biggest happiness when you are on the Road. Dusty traveler visiting far lands – that is what I wish for anyone who is ready to accept the uncertainty and Life.
The day is young and the improbable events continue with full force. We slip in the labyrinth of the bazaar and after a while we enter one side street. We make our way more and more into the heart of the old city. Every street is specialized in selling certain goods and we encounter ourselves in the street of scraps. Suddenly all the women we see wear burkas, strange old men sit in the corners and everyone is looking at us dumbfounded.
Woman dressed in burka
We quicken our pace because we start to feel uncomfortable but the lane seems to have no end. Finally we reach the main street of the bazaar and we sit to eat ice-cream that is being kept in an earthen jar.
Ice-cream in earthen jar
It is very dusty and the temperature is 40 degrees Celsius – it is hard to breathe. Respectively our clothes become really dirty in no time. We asked a guy on the street to give us the direction to a nearby park but he insisted to bring us personally. We walked together for 20 min and he didn’t say a word all the time. On the street are sold some small bottles filled with yellowish liquid that is extracted from some big lizards that are kept alive on their backs on the street.
In the evening Faraz, the boy who helped us buy sim card, told us about some really delicious sandwiches with lentils balls and an egg. Faraz is very amiable and a really good boy. We sit under his umbrella in the centre of the street madness and we chat like we are old friends.
Street at the Old City
At night our host from couchsurfing.org finds us new place to sleep – the house of Malik family. At the house live only men – father and two sons. One of the sons is married and sleeps most of the time at his mother’s place.
Home of Malik family
There are servants at the house who give us food and beverages all the time. We thank them every time and they are bewildered – we feel uncomfortable as we are not used to this. Malik family is very popular in Multan because they are landlord masters. We chat with the sons who speak very good English, and we go to bed at 3 o’clock in the morning.
24.04
We wake up quite late and nobody hasn’t awakened yet – only the servants who immediately rush to make us breakfast. The cousin of the sons who lives next door tell us he knows that the capital of Bulgaria is Sofia. We ask him how does he knows this and he says they organize quite nice trance parties there (which is really strange for Pakistan). At noon Hasan takes us with his car and drives us to a mango plantation – here they grow the best mangos in Pakistan!
Women at harvest
The villages are pretty small and everything is green. Everywhere you see mango trees and women who harvest with reaping-hooks. It is very calm and clean – absolute contrast to the city. In the evening we eat with Hasan and his friend in a small street at the city and we go home.
Mosque – can you find the falcon? :)
Read more at: MagicKervan.com
