Altit Fort And Baltit Fort ,Legend Of Two princes And Personal Opinion And Query

 

Hello Precious Friends!

Hope having blessed days and enjoying the moments in your hands to fullest!

As you know that since few weeks my posts are mostly about our recent trip to Hunza valley in northern Pakistan. Today i am sharing about the two old forts situated in Hunza valley Altit Fort and Baltit Fort . We could visit only Altit that was not that far from where we stayed . I shared some photos that we captured while exploring Altit Fort. I have taken help from google to share history of both forts though .I hope you will enjoy !

Baltit Fort is a prominent historical site in Pakistan and this place offers a panoramic view of Hunza Valley and the highest mountain peaks in Pakistan. Baltit Fort was the home of Ayashkutz royal family of Hunza for 700 years. Formerly known as Kanjut, Hunza was an independent principality ruled by a hereditary monarch named Mir Tham in the local Burushaski language. In the 19th century, Baltit Fort was part of the Great Game. In 1891, as part of an overall strategy to contain the Russians, British troops invaded Hunza and eventually occupied Baltit Fort and Hunza state. The structure of the fortress has undergone many changes over the years. The fort was abandoned in 1945, and Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan later donated the fort to Baltit Heritage Trust. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture renovated the Baltit fort and is on the tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites since 2004. The Baltit Fort now stands as a heritage site in Pakistan to be visited by tourists from all over the world. All the information and images are from this site A Brief History of Ancient Baltit Fort.To avoid making post more lengthy i excluded some parts that you can find there if interested .

Baltit Fort History

The Mirs of Hunza knew how hard it was for invaders to attack this region, but that did not mean it was impossible. The clever move was to create a fortress or stronghold to shield the citizens against attack from outsiders and any sieges set upon them.

While the Mir’s of Hunza originally resided in the Altit Fort, later Mir’s of Hunza built Baltit Fort and moved to Baltit Fort placed high above the valley, against the side of the glacier for the best vantage point. Baltit fort age is around 700 years. The foundation of the fort dates back to the 8th century, although the structure itself has undergone many additions and modifications over the years. Carbon dating indicates some of these additions were made in the 13th century.

In the 16th century Mir of Hunza, Ayashoo II wed Princess Shah Khatoon from Baltistan. She brought with her many artisans who influenced the design visitors to the fort see today. Baltistan was heavily influenced by Tibetan culture and architecture, so the face-lift the new Princess ordered resembled the Potala Palace in Lhasa. Additional changes were made to the fort, including the addition of colored glass, a more colonial-style front elevation, and limewashing

Mir Nazeem Khan Picture: SOAS UK

Picture:SOAS UK

Fort Preservation

Baltit Fort was abandoned in 1945 when Mir Jamal Khan and their family moved to the newly built palace in Karimabad, Hunza. Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan gracefully donated the fort to the Baltit Heritage Trust to restore and preserve it. The donation of the fort went to the Baltit Heritage Trust which was established as a caretaker for the facility. In1985 The Aga Khan Trust for Culture brought on Richard Hughes and Didier Lefort to develop a plan to save the Baltit Fort from further disrepair. Their ideas became a full-scale, complex conservation proposal. Hughes, an English engineer specializing in seismic proof structures and soil buildings, worked with Lefort, a French architect, and designer. Now the restoration could begin, and the current museum was established. Baltit Fort has been on the tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites since 2004. On 29th September 2006, The President of Pakistan, Mr. Farooq Laghari, and Prince Karim Aga Khan inaugurated the restoration of Balti Fort in Karimabad Hunza

                                                            

      image source here , we visited this Altit Fort that was half hour drive from our hotel. This image i chose because it gives idea how high and aloof it stands on the dry mountain peak. All the photos below are taken by us 

                                                              

                 

    you can imagine how harsh weather conditions must be during winter season. This building has survived through time and tough weather conditions. The area is protected and well maintained by authorities Agha Khan Trust  .                                                    

The total area for the fort is 300 to 400 meters,a vertical  drop down straight to the Hunza river , we could not see the houses below except some remnants but river was flowing with all his might and elegance . looking down from such height and seeing such view takes breath away for a moment literally !

from the lush front yard with grazing sheep here and there few staircase lead to the main old fort building . A guide is provided once we buy tickets who leads his group towards the small entrance of the tower like timber palace. We saw two other guides who were leading their groups too. Our guide called people so they can gather and he can tell the story of  this Fort and a family of younger prince who lived here. If you have checked the link given above or read the the paragraphs written about Baltit palace (one we could not visit) you know that Baltit palace was home to royal family where two brother lived together with their families . 

image source here, according to legends the dispute over power between two brothers made younger brother move here in other palace where he tried to form his own army and was buried alive in this standing grave by his elder brother .Although story does not have documented proof but stories travels from generation to generation over the centuries as we know . I was so disheart to listen this part of the story as i wanted to leave the room but i stayed anyway. Throughout my life i have read and the watched in shows and movies how power seekers shed their own blood for something truly trivial and i could never grasp such mindset nor ever i will that how this can happen ! i could not take the photo of this standing grave but hubby and sons did .

tourists standing front of the office for buying tickets which was close to the main entrance of the palace yard. from the languages spoken by people we noticed that tourists  from all corners of Pakistan have come to visit , we spotted many foreigners within and outside the building on different places  

when our group was moving to second floor this couple appeared ,the man called the guide man if he is free .Guide man replied that it will take some time because he has group to guide already, he said they can join the group if they want to .but man said quite loudly "o no we don't like groups " that sounded bit ill mannered to me and i think to all . whatever he liked or not it was his personal business and he should not have said this front of many people who were a group at that moment ( this is my personal opinion . but i would like to listen what you think about it .

That is it dear friends , many thanks for your incredible support and love ! It gives me strength to speak my heart and share my thoughts with you all !

Sending heeartfelt best wishes ,love and prayers on your way blessed souls! God Bless You All!