 |
Basharat Mehmood's ex-British Embassy owned Maxi.
|
 |
Fateh Jang in relation to other Pakistani cities |
Everything you ever wanted to know about Pakistan |
Population: 154 Million. Land mass: 796,095 sq km (4 times the size of the UK). Religion: Predominantly Muslim (95%). Language: Urdu and English. Currency: Pakistan Rupee. Wildlife: Leopard, Deer, Ibex, Green turtles, Crocodile. Major cities: Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad. TV Channels: PTV-I, PTV-II, PTV-III & PTV. Highest Mountain: K2 (second largest in the world). Most famous mountain pass: The Khyber Pass. Major sports: Cricket, Hockey, Football, Squash. Father of the nation: Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Head of state: General Pervez Musharraf. Want to know more? ...... click the following links:
tourism.gov.pk (Goverment tourist site, turn your speakers up as it contains music).
bbc.co.uk (BBC news profile of Pakistan).
pak.gov.pk (Pakistani Goverment website).
cia.gov (Pakistan as viewed by the USA's cloak and dagger department).
wikipedia.org (the famous free on-line encyclopedia).
|
|
Despite being sold in relatively few countries, Maxi's have a habit of turning up in the most unusual places. None more so than IDA 5372, which currently resides in a small town called Fateh Jang in Pakistan. According to its owner, Basharat Mehmood, the car used to be owned by the British Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital city. When in 1998 the Embassy no longer had any use for it, Basharat bought it from them. Since buying the 1977 left-hand drive vehicle, he say's that he's travelled several thousand miles and is very pleased with his purchase.
Inventiveness |
Unable to obtain spare parts, Basharat has had to show a certain amount of ingenuity. Click the photograph below for some examples of this.
|
Focus on Islamabad
and Fateh Jang |
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan. Its name means "abode of Islam". It's a relatively new city, its Greek architects having designed it as recently as the late 1950's. Its bordered in the north by the Margalla Hills. It has wide tree-lined streets and elegant private and public buildings. Its streets and parks are said to be filled with Flame trees, Jacarnda, Hibiscus, Jasmine & Bougainville. Unlike other cities in Pakistan, there are no slums, nor it seems any of the hellish traffic jams typical of other Pakistani and Indian Cities. The city enjoys hot summers with monsoon rains in July and August. The city and its neighbour, Rawalpindi, have a population of about 1 million.
Fateh Jang is small town about 25 miles south-west of Islamabad. For its pains its due to have a new new airport built on its doorstep (Islamabad International). No doubt the local residents are chuffed about that. The town is important insofar as it has a weekly cattle market.
For more information about these locations click on the links below:
wikipedia.org
tour-of-islamabad.html
travellerspoint.com
britishairways.com |
|
