Dramatic Mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. |
Pakistan was phenomenal. It was one of the friendliest countries I've ever visited.
I spent several days in each one of the three major cities:
• Karachi (commercial capital);
• Lahore (cultural capital); and
• Islamabad (political capital).
Some mosques were extraordinary and historical highlights were impressive, but the heartfelt welcomes everywhere every day astonished me the most.
Packed into a territory not much larger than Texas or France are some 200,000,000 people, making Pakistan the world's sixth most populated country.
English and Urdu are the official languages and almost all urban signs were in English. Most people I encountered spoke some English or were fluent in English. That helped a lot when I walked around Karachi or Lahore without a trusty guide.
Karachi
A fast growing mega-city, the dense Karachi urban area has over 25 million people making it the sixth largest in the world. Many fond photos but now my highlights:
![]() |
The second day in Karachi each time Pakistanis asked me to join them in a selfie, I started asking for a camera photo in return. |
![]() |
Pakistan's privately owned buses and trucks are famously colorful, garish, and whimsical. |
![]() |
Completely unlike the rococo buses is the streamlined, mid-century modern Islamic design of the enormous Tooba Mosque; it had a small madrasa for a dozen boys. |
With Ameer, a gentleman and wise guide in Karachi, at the handsome Ali Jinnah Mausoleum (aka Mazar-e-Quaid). |
![]() |
Another important mausoleum is the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi. Thousands come daily to pray and pay homage to this 8th century Sufi mystic who has become a sort of patron saint of Karachi. |
![]() |
At Clifton Beach were Pakistani tourists from inland getting their first glimpse of the Arabian Sea. Also saw this festooned camel promenading on the beach sand. |
Clifton Beach area was by one of the more upscale parts of Karachi. |
Lahore
With many of Pakistan's Mughal treasures, Lahore is the top tourist destination. It's also big with over 10 million people (about the size of the Chicago metro area).![]() |
Beautiful morning in Lahore walking around Jahangir's Tomb and Kamran's Baradari Pavilion and chatting with students from the University of the Punjab. |
The Badshahi Mosque was breathtakingly beautiful. For good reason is it Lahore's most iconic landmark and, like the Taj Mahal, another triumph of Mughal architecture. |
Over four centuries ago, using mostly red sandstone and intricate marble inlay, the Badshahi Mosque was constructed with this brilliant, balanced composition of elements. |
Opposite Badshahi Mosque is the imposing Alamgiri Gate of Lahore Fort from the 1500s. |
Fashion at the Fort: Striking model strikes a pose and photographer moves into place. Behind her a minaret of the Badshahi Mosque and dome of a Sikh temple. |
![]() |
Here is a sample of my reciprocated shots following selfie requests. (Yes, it took a while to finally finish that cappuccino you see in several of these photos.) |
Narrow street in the old town in Lahore. |
Older neighborhoods, such as this part of Lahore, were often wonderfully jammed with motor bikes, horse carts, buses, cars, and tuk-tuks (aka "chingchis" in Pakisan). |
Islamabad
This city was purpose-built in the 1960s to replace hectic Karachi as the national capital. It has become the most affluent (and expensive) city in Pakistan with wide boulevards, large white granite government buildings, and relatively costly housing.
![]() |
On the interesting five-hour drive from Lahore to Islamabad, we stopped at the old Rohtas Fort built in the 1500s with a five kilometer wall. More friendly college boys in blue. |
On a hill overlooking Islamabad sits the creatively designed Pakistan Monument with the large petals representing the four provinces and the small petals for the three territories. |
Some Reflections...
Many Pakistanis were painfully aware of a bad national reputation and strongly negative travel advisories. The U.S. State Dept. dismisses the whole country and "warns U.S. citizens against all non-essential travel to Pakistan."
Click to see a larger map.
As usual the British and Australians offer more nuanced appraisals that identify specific areas to avoid (see map) but they don't green light travel here either.
Still the UK advisory admits: "Around 270,000 British nationals visit Pakistan every year. Most visits are trouble-free."
I want to scoff at the overly cautious warnings but, alas, the day I arrived in Lahore a Taliban suicide attack killed a dozen policemen twenty miles south of my hotel. Happily, I only met the 99.99% of average Pakistanis who could not have been kinder and gave me an unforgettable, thoroughly wonderful nine days.