Chitral

This article is about the town of Chitral. For other uses, see Chitral (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 35°50′N 71°47′E / 35.833°N 71.783°E / 35.833; 71.783

Chitral Chetrar
چترال
Ataliq bazaar, Chitral
Chitral Location within Pakistan
Coordinates: 35°53′N 71°48′E / 35.883°N 71.8°E / 35.883; 71.8
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Municipal Corporation	1969
Area
- Total	14,850 km2 (5,733.6 sq mi)
Elevation	1,100 m (3,609 ft)
Population (2006)
- Total	20,000
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
Area code(s)	0943
Website	http://www.chitraltoday.com (Chitral Today), the outspoken voice of Chitral www.chitraltimes.com

Chitral or Chetrar (Urdu: چترال), translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River (also called Chitral River), in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, 25,289 ft (7,708 m) high. It has a population of 20,000, while the district (of 14,833 km² or 5,727 sq mi), has a population of 300,000. The altitude of the valley is 3,700 ft (1,100 m).

Geography

The easiest access to Chitral is in the southwest along the Chitral or Kunar Valley towards Jalalabad. This route is open all year and provides direct access to Kabul. However the Pakistan–Afghanistan border (Durand Line) prevents this being used as an internal route to Peshawar and the south. The other routes are over mountain passes. To the south, the Lowari Pass (3,200 m or 10,499 ft) leads 365 km (227 mi) to Peshawar. In the north, the easiest route during summer runs over the Broghol Pass (3,798 m or 12,460 ft) to Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, however during winter this route is usually closed. To the east, there is a 405 kilometres (252 mi) route to Gilgit over the 3,719 metres (12,201 ft) Shandur Pass. In the west, the 4,300 metres (14,100 ft) Dorah Pass provides an additional route to Afghanistan. The territory is home to rare falcons and the snow leopard, and is cut off by snow from the rest of the country for six months a year, a problem soon to be relieved by the completion of the Lowari Tunnel which will reduce transit time to Chitral as well as allow the district to be connected to the rest of the country even during the cold winter months.

Climate

In contrast to more southerly valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chitral has a dry Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) with almost no rainfall during the very hot summers. Precipitation occurs mainly from spring thunderstorms brought about by western frontal systems, but even this precipitation is not so heavy as on the southern side of Nanga Parbat. Winter snow in the town is not heavy, but at higher elevations where there is monsoon precipitation even on the northern side of the Himalayas snowfall can reach as high as 20 metres (70 ft).

Climate data for Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	8.8 (47.8)	9.9 (49.8)	15.1 (59.2)	22.5 (72.5)	28.2 (82.8)	34.4 (93.9)	35.9 (96.6)	34.4 (93.9)	31.1 (88.0)	25.1 (77.2)	18.7 (65.7)	11.6 (52.9)	23.0
Daily mean °C (°F)	4.1 (39.4)	5.3 (41.5)	9.6 (49.3)	15.5 (59.9)	20.3 (68.5)	26.1 (79.0)	28.0 (82.4)	26.5 (79.7)	22.1 (71.8)	16.2 (61.2)	10.8 (51.4)	5.9 (42.6)	15.9
Average low °C (°F)	−0.6 (30.9)	0.6 (33.1)	4.2 (39.6)	8.5 (47.3)	12.5 (54.5)	17.8 (64.0)	20.2 (68.4)	18.7 (65.7)	13.1 (55.6)	7.2 (45.0)	2.9 (37.2)	0.2 (32.4)	8.8
Precipitation mm (inches)	38.4 (1.512)	63.8 (2.512)	97.3 (3.831)	71.7 (2.823)	43.9 (1.728)	5.1 (0.201)	4.9 (0.193)	8.0 (0.315)	7.3 (0.287)	15.6 (0.614)	20.4 (0.803)	38.5 (1.516)	414.9 (16.335)
Sunshine hours	127.1	135.6	151.9	183.0	248.0	291.0	282.1	254.2	234.0	210.8	183.0	124.0	2,424.7
Source no. 1: [1]
Source no. 2: (sunshine only)[2]

Languages

The main languages spoken in this area of Pakistan are Khowar and about 13 other dialects. The people of the Kalash Valley speak the Kalash language. Urdu is widely spoken and understood in major towns and to some extent Pashto is also spoken.

Population

The main tribe, the Khow, speak Khowar (or Chitrali), one of the Dardic languages, which is also spoken in parts of Yasin, Gilgit, Ghizer and Swat. Pashto language is also spoken and understood by some in the city. Chitral is known for the famous Kalash tribe polytheist native inhabitants that ruled the region for centuries later invaded by "Khow". The Kalasha reside in an enclave of three remote valleys west of Ayun, which is ten miles (16 km) down from Chitral town. The Chitral culture is Islamic and contrasts considerably with the urban cities of Pakistan as well as the adjacent district of Gilgit. Women are nearly invisible except to their male relatives and other women. They avoid walking the streets of the town, so men or children do most of the shopping. Travel requires the company of a close male relative and sometimes the wearing of a burqa.^[3] There is also a sizeable population of Nuristanis, Tajiks and Uzbeks most of whom arrived from Afghanistan in the late 1980s.^{[citation needed]}

Sport

Unlike the rest of Pakistan where cricket dominates, polo is the most watches sport and soccer the most played sport.^{[citation needed]} A number of sport festivals and tournaments are held throughout the year, including the Shandur polo tournament held at the highest polo ground in the world. Around 15,000 people travel to Shandur for the tournament, which lasts around a week.^{[citation needed]}

Chitral has also produced some national players such as Muhammad Rasool who plays for the national football team. There are many football clubs in Chitral.

File:Shandur Lake.jpg

Shandur Polo ground

Newspapers

• Chitral News [1]
• Chitral Today, English site [2]
• Chitral Today, Urdu site [3]
• Chitral Times, English site [4]
• Chitral Times, Urdu site [5]

Educational Institutions

• Qutaiba Public School Chitral Denin
• Chitral Model College Chitral
• Government Commerce College, Shahi Masjid Road, Chitral, affiliated with University of Malakand [6]
• Government Technical and Vocational College, Gorem Chassma Road, Chitral
• Government Degree College, affiliated with University of Malakand [7]
• Government Girls Degree College, affiliated with University of Malakand [8]
• Government Centennial Model High School
• Government Centennial Model School for Girls
• Singoor Public School
• Chitral Public School
• Langlands School and College, formerly known as Sayurj Public School
• Pamir Public School
• Iqra Model School
• Islamia Model School Bombagh
• Aga Khan School

History

Buddhist and Hindu period

Chitral was a Hindu country before the extention of Islam, and traces of Buddhism are also found.

“

Equally interesting are the remains of what may have been a Pagan temple at Chaghan Saray, in the Kunar valley, in the extreme east of Afghanistan.[4]

”

A British garrison, sent from Gilgit to oversee the smooth transition of power to the heir apparent after a ruler was murdered, was besieged in Chitral Fort for over a month in 1895.^[5]

See also

• Badshah Munir Bukhari
• Chitral Airport
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
• Languages of Chitral
• State of Chitral

Notes

1. ^ "Chitral, Pakistan". Climate Charts. http://www.climate-charts.com/Locations/p/PK41506.php. Retrieved 1 November 2011. 
2. ^ "Chitral, Pakistan, Pakistan". allmetsat. http://en.allmetsat.com/climate/pakistan-afghanistan.php?code=41506. Retrieved 1 November 2011. 
3. ^ "Crossing the Great Divide What could an American teaching and living in a remote Pakistani village learn from her students and neighbors? Plenty.", Cara Anna, Special to The Plain Dealer. The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio, January 23, 2005. pg. 11
4. ^ The Afghans By Willem Vogelsang Edition: illustrated Published by Wiley-Blackwell, 2002 Page 184 ISBN 0631198415, 9780631198413
5. ^ Much Sounding of Bugles: The Siege of Chitral, 1895, John Harris, Hutchinson 1975

References

• Decker, D. Kendall (1992). Languages of Chitral. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_work.asp?id=32850. 
• Durand, Col. A. (1899). The Making of a frontier. http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/scanned/durand.htm. 
• Leitner, G. W. (First Reprint 1978). Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893: Being An Account of the History, Religions, Customs, Legends, Fables and Songs of Gilgit, Chilas, Kandia (Gabrial) Yasin, Chitral, Hunza, Nagyr and other parts of the Hindukush, as also a supplement to the second edition of The Hunza and Nagyr Handbook. And An Epitome of Part III of the author’s The Languages and Races of Dardistan. New Delhi: Manjusri Publishing House. 

External links

• Chitral travel guide from Wikitravel
• Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
• Government of Pakistan
• Yidgha, A Language of Pakistan
• Chitrali Blog