CHITRAL: The 7th century fort of Chinese king Bahman Kohistani in Muzhgole village of upper Chitral can be turned into a tourist resort if the archaeology department pays the much needed attention to it.

Talking to Dawn here the other day, Gulzada Khan, a retired schoolteacher of the area, said that the upper part of Chitral remained a dominion of Chinese rulers, including the king Bahman.

He said that Bahman left deep imprints on the history of Chitral as he successfully warded off the intruders from the neighbouring Central Asian States.

Mr Khan said that the king raised the fort atop a hillock in Muzhgole overlooking Mulkhow valley, which is surrounded by the 11-km-long plateau of Kagh Lusht on the bank of Terich River.

The hillock is still known as ‘Noghore Zome’, (the castle hill) and contains the ruins of the small-sized fort whose description is prominently found in the local folk tales, he said, adding that the fort was visible from across the Mulkhow valley.

Gulzada Khan said that the fort was said to have a water supply system for which the horns of markhor were used as pipe while the source of water was a natural spring situated three kilometers from the fort.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2014