Cross Cultural Influences on Architecture in Pakistan: Vol. 1: From Paleolithic Period to 1947

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Pakistan is one of the most beautiful countries in the world blessed with rich cultural heritage snow-clad mountains, meadows, lush green valleys, fertile plains, Indus River and its tributaries, deserts, plateau, and a long coastal belt. It has a long and uninterrupted history from Paleolithic period to present times. The country is located at the cross road of several trade routes linking China in the north, Central Asia in the west and Iran and Middle East in the south and south east. During the course of long history a large number of settlements, structures and works of arts of exceptional beauty were produced presenting a variety of concepts and philosophies. These trade routes brought influence from far and wide and had strong impact on history, culture and artistic tradition. This scholarly work has thoroughly documented the roots of architectural history and tradition of Pakistan from prehistoric to contemporary times. For the first time in history, Dr. Abdul Rehman has produced this masterpiece after years of extensive and original research. The book is comprised of two volumes. The first volume presented here begins from the prehistoric times including the Vedic period, Gandhara and pre-Islamic traditions and then covers the long and rich Islamic history. The book finally covers the contributions of the Sikhs and British in the urban and landscape history of Pakistan. Among the uniqueness of this scholarly work are the monuments of Baluchistan, which are exclusively presented and comprehensively covered for the first time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Abdul Rehman is a former Professor and Director of School of Architecture and Design, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. He holds a National Diploma in Architecture from National College of Arts, Lahore and a Ph. D degree from “Ion Mincu,” University of Architecture and Urbanism, Bucharest, Romania. He has been a senior Fulbright fellow at both Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.