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Derawar Fort – Living to tell the tale 20th June 2011  |  DAWN.COM Standing proudly in the midst of the Cholistan desert, the Derawar Fort is a famed hallmark of Bahawalpur. From Bahawalpur city, it takes several hours to get to the fort, with the journey being long, tiring and dust laden. But it’s worth the trouble. With the vast Cholistan desert serving as a backdrop, the majestic fort is a sight to behold. Rai Jajja Bhati, a Hindu Rajput from Jaisalmir, was the first to build a fort on the site. However, the Nawab of Bahawalpur, Sadeq Mohammad Khan I, captured the fort in 1733 and had it rebuilt to how it looks today. The fort was taken away from the Nawab in 1747 but in 1804, Nawab Mubarak Khan reclaimed the fort. Several archeological sites, some of which date back to the time of the Indus Valley Civilisation, surround the Derawar Fort. These sites have not been excavated yet. The fort itself is badly in need of repair and restoration work. A mosque clos...

To the southeast of Dera Nawab, on the edge of the Cholistan Desert, make an exciting day’s outing from either Ahmadpur East or Bahawalpur. The massive fort towers over the surrounding semi-desert and is visible from miles around. The huge walls, supported by enormous round buttresses, stand 40 meters (130 feet) high and are 1.5 kilometers (a mile) in circumference. The drive, for four-wheel drive vehicles only, take from one to two hours from Ahmadpur East, depending on the state of the road and the route your guide has chosen for you. The last 25 kilometers (15miles) are across desert. There has been a fort at Derawar for at least 5,000 years, part of a long chain that protected the ancient trade rout from central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. The fort was captured by the Abassi family from Raja Rawal Singh of Jaisalmar in 1733, at which time the present fort was built. The whole area around Derawar was once well watered by the Ghaggar River (now called the Hakra in P...

The Cholistan, or Rohi, Desert in Punjab is the largest desert on the Indian continent. The desert is over 10,000 square miles. Located 20 miles from Bahawalpur, The Hakra River dried up here, and with it most life. The 2.5 million people who live here are nomads who lead a simple life herding and trading in camels. Their culture is strong with many romantic legends dating back to ancient times and they place great value in the power of song. The desert festivals are simply out of this world, you may see camels dancing (except those with two left humps) who are even better dressed in dazzling costumes than their owners. The people of Cholistan wear embroidered and print coloured shirts, skirts and robe coats. During the wet season, the nomads built shallow reservoirs to catch rainwater to survive long spells away from their villages. Cholistan is changing amazingly. The desert was under perennial regular irrigated cultivation till 1200 B C and under seasonal regular irrigated cultivati...