SIGHTSEEING OPTIONS - ICC CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY 2008

Karachi	Lahore
Clifton Beach	Badshahi Mosque
Defence Housing Authority Mosque	Begum Shah Mosque
Jinnah House Museum	Chughtai Museum
National Museum of Pakistan	Jehangir's Tomb
French Beach

Karachi
Clifton Beach
Clifton Beach is Karachi's busiest beach, although here you'll want to take a stroll rather than a swim. The beach itself is nothing special, made of mud-grey sand, but it's fun for people-spotting. Clifton is one of Karachi's posher neighbourhoods, but the beach attracts a complete cross section of society, so gives a good picture of Karachi at play. It's deserted before late afternoon, and at it's most festive on Sundays.
Camel and horse rides on the sands are popular, while stands sell cold drinks, chai (tea) and grilled corn. A park and promenade was on the verge of completion when we visited, where you can stroll for a small entry fee. The main roundabout near the beach has plenty of buses, autorickshaws and taxis, many heading for Saddar (a taxi will set you back Rs100

Defence Housing Authority Mosque
	Surely Pakistan's most eccentric mosque, the Defence Housing Authority Mosque is a truly odd structure that was built in the late 1960s. The low-slung mosque is contained under one vast dome with no supporting columns or vaults. With a diameter of 72m, the tentlike dome claims to be the world's largest. Constructed of white marble, it has thousands of mirror tiles in its thermally proofed interior, giving the impression of twinkling stars.
Visitors are welcome, although it's recommended to avoid prayer times and Fridays. Also known as the Defence Society Mosque, it's in DHA, about 1km southeast of the Cantonment Railway Station.

Jinnah House Museum
In Flag Staff House, this museum is beautifully maintained. You can see Jinnah and Fatima's private apartments, with period furniture and accessories - well worth a visit.

National Museum of Pakistan

The display here includes a two-million-year-old Stone Age axe recovered from the Potwar Plateau and other artefacts from around Pakistan. There's an interesting Islamic section outlining the early Arab settlements of Debal and Mansura. The 'Freedom Movement' gallery has a collection of photos and newspaper articles relating to the Independence movement.

French Beach
	The beautiful French Beach, is about 40km from central Karachi. It's relatively private, and is pretty much the reserve of Karachi's upper classes and expatriates.

Lahore
Badshahi Mosque
Completed in 1674 under Aurangzeb as the Mughals' final architectural fling, the sublime Badshahi Mosque, opposite the main gateway to the Lahore Fort, is one of the world's largest mosques. Replete with huge gateways, four tapering minarets of red sandstone, three vast marble domes and an open courtyard said to hold up to 100,000 people, it was damaged by the British and later restored. The rooms (admission Rs5 ) above the entrance gate are said to house hairs of the Prophet Mohammed and other relics.
The mosque looks lovely when it's illuminated in the evening. In 1991 the mosque grabbed international headlines when hardline mullahs (Muslim religious leaders) protested at the visit of the late Princess of Wales; her skirt was considered too short and the director of the mosque was criticised for presenting (the then) HRH, a non-Muslim, with a copy of the Quran and allowing her into the sacred precincts while immodestly dressed. The case went to court and ended with the litigant mullahs being ordered to stop wasting the judge's time. In the courtyard stands the Tomb of Allama Mohammed Iqbal, a modest memorial in red sandstone to the philosopher-poet who in the 1930s first postulated the idea of an independent Pakistan.

Begum Shah Mosque
	Masti Gate in the north of the Old City leads to the 1614 Begum Shah Mosque, named after Maryam Zamani, the mother of Emperor Jehangir. If you're keen to visit Heera Mandi it's advisable to go in a group as it can sometimes be a bit seedy after dark.

Chughtai Museum
Originally intended to be temporary but open since 1975, the year Muhammad Abdur Rahman Chughtai died, the Chughtai Museum is just northwest of the intersection of Ferozpur Rd and Gulberg Main Blvd. Recognised as Pakistan's greatest painter and credited with a single-handed renaissance in Islamic art here, Chughtai (1897-1975) produced almost 2000
watercolours, thousands of pencil sketches and nearly 300 etchings and aquatints. He also designed many of Pakistan's stamps and coins. It's possible to see works of Chughtai that are not in the exhibition if you contact the director, Mr Arif Rahman Chughtai (5850733) in advance. It's also probably a good idea to phone just ahead of your visit to make sure someone is there.

Jahangir’s Tomb
	Standing in a garden on the northern outskirts of Lahore, the elaborately decorated sandstone Jehangir's Tomb is that of Emperor Jehangir. Built in 1637 by Jehangir's son, Shah Jahan, it's believed to have been designed by Jehangir's widow, Nur Jahan. The tomb is made of marble with trellis decorations of pietra dura bearing the 99 attributes of Allah in Arabic calligraphy. These are inside a vaulted chamber, decorated with marble tracery and cornered with four minarets.
Outside is a sunken passageway with one tunnel supposedly leading to Shalimar Gardens and another to Hiran Minar - both tunnels are now bricked up. The entrance to the tomb courtyard lies on the right-hand side of Akbar's Caravanserai, a 180-room resting place for pilgrims, travellers and their animals, built by Shah Jahan at the same time as Jehangir's Tomb. The western gateway leads to the Tomb of Asif Khan. The brother-in-law of Jehangir and father to Mumtaz Mahal (the lady for whom India's Taj Mahal was created), Khan died in 1641.