Across oceans and time

Once in Montego Bay, I realised the place was a tourist trap. Large swathes of beachfront were monopolised by resort hotels, catering to snowbirds arriving on direct flights from several North American cities to the warm beaches of Jamaica. In my quest to explore other interesting parts of the beach town, I visited Rose Hall Great House. It was there that I realised that British colonialism continued to thrive in the New World, even after the American War of Independence.

After being defeated by the thirteen colonies of North America, the British did not leave the Americas; they continued to rule several Caribbean islands. The British gentry frequently visited colonial posts, and affluent businessmen continued buying and developing large swathes of tropical paradise. Rose Hall Great House was one such plantation.

My ears gradually adjusted to the noise of the ferry. I was tired. Resting my head against the back of the seat, I dozed off briefly. When I awoke, I felt disoriented. I looked at the people around me. Where was I? Mozambique? Angola? No, I had visited those countries earlier in 2024. The ferry I was on was travelling from Port of Spain to Scarborough. Although I was far from Africa, familiar African faces surrounded me.

I am an African. My ancestors voluntarily left Africa over 200,000 years ago. The next significant wave of emigration from Africa was forced. The institution of slavery was tied to the discovery of the New World and the colonial appetite for cheap labour.

Geology students are often asked about the origins of large rocks found far from their source. The answer lies in the workings of glaciers. A glacier can rip a rock from its origin and carry it great distances. When the snow melts and the glacier recedes, the stranded rock can puzzle those unfamiliar with the land's history. The presence of African faces in the Caribbean is a similar phenomenon. Africans were brought to these lands by their colonial masters. After slavery was abolished, the colonial rulers eventually returned to their homelands, leaving behind an African population far from its original continent.

During the long drive from Kingston to Montego Bay, I listened to an intriguing conversation on the radio. The discussion began with the Gaza conflict and gradually shifted to the role African countries must play in regional conflicts. To put it bluntly, Jamaican commentators were instructing the Nigerian government on what to do. This made me wonder: how do African countries feel about the African Diaspora intervening in their political affairs? Is it akin to how people in Pakistan view the political involvement of overseas Pakistanis?

–AH Cemendtaur, social commentator and traveller

The year of 100 countries

The past year will remain unforgettable for me as I celebrated a milestone – visiting my 100th country. It was a prolific year for travel. While the first quarter was relatively quiet, the remainder of the year took me to some of the world's most remote corners. Just as Paris symbolises urban beauty (perhaps unfairly so), North Korea has become a metaphor for extreme isolation. Though I have never been to North Korea, I ventured to countries often likened to it in their respective regions: Eritrea and Turkmenistan.

Eritrea offered a surreal experience of stepping back in time, with a literal sense of returning to the 1990s. The internet was non-existent, social media was absent, cars on the streets were relics of the pre-21st century and shop signs were all hand-painted. Despite this, the people were warm and gentle, women actively participated in public life and the food was delightful.

In stark contrast, Turkmenistan has leveraged its vast gas reserves to build a cult of personality around its rulers. The capital, Ashgabat, gleams with white marble and is dotted with gilded monuments of debatable aesthetic value – an opulent spectacle born of extravagance.

Earlier in the year, during my Caribbean voyage, I stumbled upon an uncanny coincidence: staying near the childhood homes of some of the most famous people from those regions. In Port of Spain, my accommodation was on the same block as VS Naipaul’s childhood home. In Bridgetown, I stayed a mere ten steps away from Rihanna’s childhood house. “She was a nice little girl. She would play in the street and greet me often,” said my Airbnb host, who had lived there for over five decades.

As I reflect on 2024, many moments stand out vividly. The haunted city of Massawa, where I was welcomed for freshly brewed coffee inside a ramshackle house; the ethereal beauty of Hunte’s Gardens in Barbados; the colonial charm of Maputo, where I indulged in countless badijas (a pakora-like snack); a lone Punjabi restaurant worker in St George’s, who spoke fondly of Grenadians’ sincerity; a wildly entertaining church service on a ferry in St Vincent, filled with dance and drumbeats; and an eerily romantic night by a massive fire pit in Turkmenistan’s desert. These experiences – and many more – fuel my unyielding passion for exploring the world.

– Shueyb Gandapur, a chartered accountant by profession and an avid traveller and photographer by passion, has travelled to over 100 countries on his Pakistani passport. He shares picture stories from his travels on his Instagram handle @ShueybGandapur

Stonemasons of Potohar and Salt Range

My extensive field visits to various villages and towns in the Pothohar region and the Salt Range for research on stonemasons and stonemasonry have opened up a largely unexplored avenue of study in these areas. A visit to a stone-built mosque in Haral village, near Basharat town in Chakwal's Choa Saidan Shah, significantly deepened my appreciation for the craftsmanship of stonemasons. This mosque is believed to have been constructed by Mistri Sher Muhammad, the renowned architect.

The stone carvings on the mosque are exceptional. They showcase intricate designs and speak of the remarkable skill of Mistri Sher Muhammad. An inscription on the façade confirms that it was built by him (d. 1957), a master craftsman whose contributions have left a lasting legacy in Pothohar and the Salt Range. Inspired by the beauty and precision of this mosque, I set out to explore all the mosques constructed by Mistri Sher Muhammad in the region. His carvings, marked by unique decorative motifs, reflect his distinct style, instantly recognisable to anyone familiar with stonemasonry in the area.

I also visited Takiya Shah Murad village, located near Khanpur in Chakwal district, where I met some descendants of Mistri Sher Muhammad. In 1933, he constructed the stone-built portico of the shrine of Shah Murad, adorned with a variety of floral and geometric designs. This region, particularly Chakwal district, is home to numerous stone mosques crafted by skilled stonemasons. Villages such as Mona, Siral, Fim Kassar, Minwal, Vahali, Tamay, Jandial Faizullah and Kot Iqbal are known for their intricate stonework, with many influenced by Mistri Sher Muhammad's distinctive style.

Among the mosques I visited, the Jamia Masjid in Vahali village stands out for its beautiful wood and stone carvings. Mistri Sher Muhammad’s name is displayed on one of the painted ceiling beams, cementing his legacy. His motifs, seen on facades, pillars and panels, exhibit unparalleled brilliance and have inspired other stonemasons to adopt and imitate his technique.

In 2025, I plan to extend my research by visiting all the stone-built mosques constructed by Mistri Sher Muhammad’s students in various villages and towns across the Pothohar region and the Salt Range. These visits will offer further insight into how his architectural style and craftsmanship have influenced generations of stonemasons in the region.

–Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro, anthropologist, is the author of 12 books on ethnography, cultural heritage, art and religion in Pakistan

Rediscovering ancient paths

My travels this past year were less as a travel writer and more for work, recording the impact of NGOs working with communities in Sindh affected by the 2022 floods. Understandably, it was terribly heart-breaking. Here were landless peasants whose cotton crop had been completely destroyed and who, a year and a half after the calamity, were still struggling to repay their debts to money-lenders and landlords, all while attempting to rebuild their homes, mud-brick by mud-brick.

Truth be told, I also met dozens of rural middle-class families who were once reasonably well off, working on their ten or twelve acres of farmland and date and lemon orchards. By early 2024, their lives had been shattered, with the cracked lintels of their brick-and-mortar homes standing as stark reminders. Not one farming family I encountered during my three trips had been unaffected by the deluge. Nearly every family recounted how they had kept body and soul together by selling their livestock for food.

On the fringe of the Thar desert, I met a widow living under a tarpaulin with her three children. Nearby stood the skeleton of her conical hut, the chaunra. “All our lives we used to pray for it to rain so the seedlings in our small holdings would grow. This was the first time we prayed for the rain to stop,” she said. Others said they thought it was a replay of the deluge they had learned about from Scripture.

What amazed me was the kindness of the people I met. Despite losing everything, they still insisted on offering hospitality. It was difficult to dissuade them. Some quickly milked the one goat they had left to prepare tea, despite all my protestations.

Thankfully, 2024 did not see a repeat of the deluge of 2022 and lives in Sindh are slowly returning to normal.

In the coming year, I hope to do some old-fashioned travelling, all within Sindh. I plan to travel along the Nara Canal from Sukkur all the way to the Rann of Cutch. Though I have explored the delta of the Sindhu River in the past, it is a place I want to revisit—to see how the death of the once-great Sindhu has devastated hundreds of lives in a region that once boasted over a dozen varieties of rice.

The great Barbarikan-Arachosia trade route, described by First-Century Greek geographers, is also on my list. From Bhambore on the seaboard near Karachi to Kandahar (Arachosia), this ancient road carried significant traffic for over two millennia. Passing through parched landscapes and hugging the rugged easterly escarpments of the Khirthar Mountains, it went past Manchhar Lake and into what is now Larkana district. From there, it climbed into the beautiful Moola Valley in Khuzdar district. However, I will stop short of venturing into Balochistan.

Back in the late 1980s, and again in 2005, I explored parts of this now-abandoned route. I saw petroglyphs, ancient paved stretches and an old milestone inscribed with Sindhi script. That is what I hope to re-experience in the coming year.

– Salman Rashid, author of several travel books, is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Quite literally heaven on earth, Zell am See!

When people think of the most scenic part of Europe, they often picture the Swiss Alps. This is partly because it’s true and partly due to the influence of Bollywood, which has conditioned us to associate beauty in Europe with the Swiss Alps. However, my trip to Zell am See changed that perspective.

This year, I spent a few days in a small Austrian town called Zell am See, near Salzburg. A picturesque alpine town nestled between the stunning Zeller See lake and the towering peaks of the Hohe Tauern mountains, Zell am See offered breathtaking landscapes, crystal-clear waters, lush green meadows, and majestic mountains – the perfect summer escape for a burnt-out corporate worker like me.

It was a true delight to visit during the summer: taking boat rides to cross the lake, watching children swim, sing, and dance, reading by the water’s edge, strolling around the charming old town, and simply people-watching. It felt like experiencing life at its absolute best.

Interestingly, Zell am See is a popular destination for Arab tourists, and I was surprised by the wide availability of halal food options.

Hafsah Sarfraz, communications professional, journalist and photographer

Dreaming of Japan in 2025

I want to end my travel analysis for 2024 by noting with pleasure that my forecast for Saudi Arabia as an emerging destination (beyond just religious visits) has proven to be correct. Saudi Arabia is now featured on the list of target destinations for discerning travellers, especially with the development of Al Ula and the new high-end Red Sea resorts.

2024 was a good year for me. After a two-year hiatus, I resumed travel and revisited my old haunts: Saudi Arabia, Italy, France, the UK, Turkey and Singapore. However, as any traveller will tell you, there’s an incredible buzz from visiting a place for the first time. For me, that place was Indonesia. Nature and the people just blew my mind (all captured in my travelogue in this very publication!).

As far as desired destinations go, the list is endless. However, in 2025, I would like to prioritise Japan over other destinations. I am deeply fascinated by its unique culture, enhanced by more than 200 years of isolation from the rest of the world by a royal decree. No one I know has been to Japan and not returned with their mind blown.

Wishing the best of health to all the readers and an exciting year of travel in 2025!

– Ali Abbas Syed, finance professional based in Dubai