On the way back from Attock Fort, me and my husband Junaid made a quick decision to visit the Archaeological Site Taxila. Being a General History student in college days, I was obviously very excited and scared at the same time (my beliefs on Demons and Jinns are very strong). While driving to find Sirkap, we reached at Jaulian Remains at about 4:30pm. The tourist guide was about to leave when we caught him in time.
This Buddhist Monastery is located on a mountain top. We parked the car and climbed the stair. There was a river flowing down the mountain and I stopped every now to take a few clicks. Also, I suffered shortness of breath due to lack of stamina unfortunately I was not carrying any bottle of water.
The Jaulian Remains looks beautiful surrounded by green mountains. It is among the first university of the world.
The main stupa is quite poor condition. Many of the statues are removed and taken for exhibition to the main Taxila Museum. Mostly, the heads of the remaining statues are damaged. Still, it is very appealing to the history students in particular and general public.
The most interesting statue that I found there was the statue of Healing Buddha with a hole in the navel. It’s a popular belief in Buddhist majority areas that if you put your finger in the naval of Buddhist statue and pray for the ailment of patients, the patient is healed.
The monastery is consisted of two floors. Each floor has small rooms for the students with a small window for ventilation and light. There is a kitchen area to feed the students and monks, an assembly hall, store room, kitchen, dining hall and a pool for washing and cleaning purposes.
During the conversation with the tourist guide, we inquired about the Sirkap Remains ( the name actually slipped out of our mind and we explained it with difficulty where we actually wanted to go). We made a very short visit to Sirkap Remains, the guides were leaving for home but the tourist guide contacted the guide of Sirkap Remains and informed him about us). We thanked him for his help and left for Sirkap, as I wanted to leave the place before the Maghrib Prayers.
The moment we arrived, we found the guide waiting for us with keys in his hand. Later he informed us that he had already locked the place. We thanked him too and proceed to the Remains.
I was surprised by the intelligence of the people of that time. I had read about the urban planning of Moen Jo Daro and Taxila Civilizations but never thought that they would do it so smartly. Sirkap is one of the well planned cities of ancient times. They had fortified the walls of the city and is thick enough to prevent a foreign attack; there is a main road leading to a market, houses, temples and a water well. Royal palace is towards the Eastern Door.
The round stupa is particular interesting for the reason that according to the archaeologists this is older than the rest of the house and believed to be the oldest Buddhist structure in the Sub Continent.
It was one of the most memorable memories of my life to visit UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sadly, mismanagement and negligence of the government and authorities is damaging the world heritage. Although according to the Guardian Newspaper, it is among the top tourist sites in Pakistan and a little investment and facilities to this area will attract many tourists from around the world.
Travel Date: 15th Nov 2015.
Parvaaz 
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