Places To Remember - Hunza Valley, Pakistan

in #archisteem5 years ago

This is my second contribution to the 1001 Places To Remember Project by @archisteem !

karimabad.jpg

We arrived to Karimabad in Hunza Valley by bicycle from China!
We had followed the Karakorum Highway through ash grey mountain roads, and when we arrived to Karimabad it was like an oasis in the mountains. Everything was so green and fertile!
We were supposed to be in one of the poorest parts of the world, but this area seemed so rich and lush!


the contrast between grey and green!

The road up to the village was very steep and we were struggling, pushing our bicycles. On the way up we got taken over by two guys on a motorbike. They owned a hotel and wanted us to come to their hotel. We bargained a bit, since we usually stayed in very cheap hotels or got invited to people's houses.
I think they took pity on us, struggling with our bikes and they had no problem with giving us a room in their hotel for 150 Pakistani Rupees a night! (that was around 1€ back then!), so we were not disappointed when we reached the top and got welcomed to a room with this view:

The mountains in this part of the world are so powerful and magical and the air is so fresh and clean! People drank water directly from the melting glaciers, which at first was a bit scary, since this water is grey with little shiny particles, but we tried it, and didn't get sick.. maybe we actually got a bit stronger!

The people here are very very nice too and surprisingly well educated. Allmost everyone spoke English, also the women whom we had difficulties getting contact with in other places. Here we got invited in several times by women who shared so many stories with us!
Their religion here is also special. The majority of people are ismaili muslims, which is a very mild form of Islam. Furthermore they still have a lot of contact with nature and religious practice is a very social activity that binds the community together.


one of the beautiful women who shared their stories with us. She was amazed, though, how we could choose to marry or not. She didn't want to be married, because she didn't want to leave the house of her mother and belong to someone else

Karimabad left a big impression on us, Living underneath those majestic mountains really makes you feel small as a human. Makes it obvious how we are just a small part of nature and that every part of nature is important.
We have to do our part to fit in, and the great mountains are always there to guide us!


The Great Rakaposhi


Karimabad, one of the most beautiful places on Earth!

Sort:  

Good looking , Thanks

Beautiful article and excellent shots. Enjoyed watching it! 😊

It's really odd how wrongly we can consider some parts of the world as the poorest ones while, in fact they are among the richest. But all depends on the value scale of each individual, although the media and politicians try very hard to persuade or even brainwash us to value things differently.

Posted using Partiko Android

Thank you! So true and so sad to see people who don't realise that they have something invaluable, like bonds of community that most places in the western world has lost, time and unspoiled nature, and then think they want to "go to Europe and get rich" (I heard that a lot in Turkey) because that's what the media has told them.

Entirely agree with you. Sometimes people think that in the western world or even just in a big cities they would be able to pick the money like the fruits from the trees. They don't realize that they are trading a big portion of their freedom for the slavery with eventually a few extra bucks filled pockets.

Posted using Partiko Android

Hello @frejafri 👐 thank you for sharing this beautiful story and pictures, I thought that this kind of place only exists in the novel 😊 and what's that fruit or veggie on the first snap😯 did you taste their food too? That lady is really beautiful.. and I hope she has a chance to meet a man who will ensure her tha she's a respected woman, has her rights and not treated as someone's belonging.

I think they are some kinds of pumpkins, but I am actually not sure! Yes we had some amazing food there! Mostly we just gorged on free apples and peaches from the trees, but also had some nice local food with people :)
Yes I really hope she does too!

Would be love to see how's the gorged on free apples and peaches adventures too 😂😂😂

I enjoyed reading this post, what am I saying? I love all your traveling adventures. Those mountains... I know the feeling you experienced... being so little in front of her majesty, Mother Nature. I had the same feeling when I first say the mountains and glaciers in Alaska. I was so impressed, down to tears. I said to myself: Gods must live here. Can’t wait for more stories and photos! 💕

I like photo #3 (contrast of green and gray) and photo #8 (snow-covered mountain peak) the best. I am sure that your travels have changed how you view life.

When I lived overseas, arranged marriages were still common in the rural areas. This is a hard concept for people who come from the west.

Yes, this family we got invited by was special since it was just the mother and 4 daughters in the house. The father had passed away, but they were all just so happy living together in this house of women, so they really couldn't imagine leaving, having to suddenly be under a man - it is still the tradition that the bride moves in with her husband's family and that the man of the house has the last word. But they didn't do so much in arranged marriages as far as I understood, and could choose by themselves. The thing she found amazing was that we (as a couple) were not married and could choose to be together the way we wanted. For them it's more an either, or solution, married in your husbands house or single in your mother's (or father's for most)

Wow these are some breathtaking views of Karimabad! How could one ever get tired of waking to this? I love the contrast picture of the grey and green! But most of all those beautiful mountains. It’s really neat that you were able to hear stories from some of the people there and learn more about their religion. Thank you so much for sharing an incredible adventure with us!

Oh mama, this is so beautiful it makes me wanna cry! Yes, nature is so special and so are God's every creation ❤ the people there are blessed, and so glad you get to experience such places yourself!

These are just beautiful pictures. I am amazed at all of the beauty you have captured and all of the beautiful places you have been.

Dear @frejafri,

Thank you for the submission for our project – 1001 Places to Remember. Let us go through the content and will make an announcement soon for the posts which will be winning the rewards as well as qualify for the publication.

Stay tuned and Steem on!

Sincerely from,

@archisteem and team

Beautiful! The mountain looks like a grey desert on some of the first photographs.

The one with the woman in green is some extra nice. Waiting for more stories.

Yes the color of those mountains is surreal, like walking around in ashes!
Thank you!

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.36
TRX 0.12
JST 0.039
BTC 70112.96
ETH 3549.99
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.71