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Weekends in Pakistan – a Trip to Khewra Salt Mines

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Time is running

The distance of place is like distance of miles

We can’t meet with each other

But

We have hope; to be together with twinkling twinkling smiles

Far from dear only weekends make us near

Let’s meet; on weekends again

Weekends are a blessing from God. Before I continue, I just need to check the calendar to know when my weekend will start….I smile – it’s just two days way!

People in Pakistan enjoy spending time together on weekends, as there seems to no longer be any free time for people to sit together in such a high speed, technology-driven era, no time to take care of each other, no time to listen to others. Only weekends provide this opportunity.

Today we wonder why time seems to be moving so much faster and why life has become so busy. It seems as if there is never enough time to get everything done, and in this busy life we can easily forget the enjoyment and excitement of life. But we still have a chance to enjoy the life – and that happens when the weekend starts.

Ever since the golden days of my school years, I’ve yearned to experience new and exciting things on weekends. When the bell rang on a Friday, I knew that the next two days I could dedicate to fun. I’d spend most of my time with my family members either by watching TV or playing badminton.

Today, weekends are still all about organising fun things to do with my family. On a recent weekend I visited the “Khewra Salt Mines”. They are also called the Mayo salt mines in Pakistan. Khewra is situated in north Pind-dad-khan, an administrative subdivision of Jhelum DistrictPunjab, Pakistan. Khewra is considered as one of the largest and oldest salt mines. In fact, it is the second largest salt mine in the world. The largest is Goderich Ont salt mine in Canada.

The Khewra Salt Mines: An Interesting Discovery

The discovery of the world’s second largest salt mines was a very interesting incident. The salt mines were discovered in about 320BC, around the time of Alexander the Great. The discovery of the mine was not made by the Alexander, nor by his allies, but by the horses in Alexander’s army. This all took place when Alexander the Great visited South Asia and a battle took place between Alexander the Great and the army of Raja Porus. The army of Alexander passed through the Jehlum and Mianwali Districts. They rested here at the bank of the Jehlum River. The horses started licking the stones when they were grazing. One of the soldiers of Alexander’s army observed this and tasted the stone. He discovered that the stone was actually salt. This is how the world’s second largest salt mine was discovered.

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Now back to my weekend trip to the salt mines…I must say that it was a fun filled day with my family. We started out in the morning on a beautiful sunny day, and took the motorway from Islamabad to the salt mines. It takes almost 2 hours by car from Islamabad. I was so excited to see the mines, as visitors can now walk within the salt mines. Inside there are different kinds of monuments made of salt. For example, they have made a salt monument of the famous Badshahi Mosque in Lahore. The masjid (mosque) was built with different coloured salt and lit up from the inside, giving it a beautiful, soft and spiritual look. It was amazing and exciting.

Once the trip ended we all were really hungry and wanted to eat something to gain our lost energy. There are a lot of local restaurants open for tourists around the salt mines. So we chose one and ordered local chicken curry with famous chapatti, before heading home. On way back I was tired but extremely happy, all set to rock the week with a more refreshed mind. For me weekends are a real blessing. How about you? Have you planned something for your coming weekend?

PAKISTAN-Palwasha-Khan-M

 

MEET THE LOCAL: PALWASHA KHAN

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