Islamabad

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Image:PakistanIslamabad.png Islamabad (Urdu: ‏اسلام آباد, population 810,000) is the capital city of Pakistan, located in the Potwar Plateau, north-east of the country. It is located within the Islamabad Capital Territory, though the area has historically been a part of the crossroads of the Punjab region and the North-West Frontier Province (the Margalla pass being a historic gateway to the North-West Frontier Province, and the Potwar plateau historically a part of the Punjab). Islamabad is located at 33°40′N 73°10′E.

On 8 October, it was hit by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, which struck with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale.

1 Geography and climate
2 History
3 Tourism and sightseeing
4 Universities in Islamabad
5 See also
6 External links

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Geography and climate

The city is situated at the edge of the Potwar plateau, south of the Margalla hills. The modern capital Islamabad and the ancient Gakhar city of Rawalpindi stand side by side, displaying the country’s past and present. The area's micro-climate is regulated by three man-made lakes (Rawal, Simli and Khanpur). The city has hot summers with monsoon rains occurring during July and August. During the winters, even on the few days when pre-dawn temperatures fall below freezing, the afternoons are usually sunny and mild — in the coldest month, January, the average daily maximum temperature is 16°C (61°F).

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History

Image:PM Lodges.jpg From independence until 1958 Pakistan's capital was Karachi in Sindh in the far south. Worries about the concentration of investment and development in that city are said to have led to the idea of building a new capital in a different location. During the administration of Pakistani President Ayub Khan, a site immediately north of Rawalpindi was chosen. Rawalpindi was designated as the temporary capital. Work on the new capital started during the 1960s.

The planning and construction was largely headed by the Greek urban planner Constantinos A. Doxiadis. His plan revolved around the building of the city in sectors, each containing four sub-sectors separated by green belts and parks. There was a strong emphasis on greenery and open space. When Islamabad was finally built growth was slow - the government did not fully relocate to the city from Rawalpindi until the 1980s. During this time the capital's population was small, at around 250,000. This changed dramatically during the 1990s with the population increasing, instigating the building of new sectors.

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Tourism and sightseeing

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Sightseeing

For sightseeing, the views from the sculpted gardens of Islamabad's Shakparian Hill, the fascinating Heritage Museum and huge marble Shah Faisal Mosque are highlights of the modern city. To the west of Islamabad is the Buddhist site of Taxila, dating from 500BC. The sculptures show a strong Greek influence, a result of Alexander the Great's journey through the region.The commercial center of the city is known as the Blue Area running along the length of Jinnah Avenue. Its eastern end runs into Parliament Road, where the majority of government buildings are located.

The city is very green, with much afforestation of what was formerly scrub forest and open ground. The city's climate has enabled many exotic plants to be introduced to the area. There is also much wildlife in the north in the Margallas, which have been turned into a national park.

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Architecture

Islamabad's architecture walks a tight-rope between modernity and tradition.The Saudi-Pak Tower is a good example of modern and traditional in one building. The city is home to the Faisal Mosque, which is well-known for its architecture and immense size. Quaid-i-Azam University is also located in the capital city along with numerous government buildings and foreign embassies such as the National Assembly building, the Supreme Court building, the President's official residence(Aiwan-e-Sadr) and the Prime Minister's secretariat. Another landmark is a giant silver-colored Globe Statue, installed in 2004 to mark Pakistan's hosting of that year's SAARC Summit.