erawar Fort, located at the heart of the Cholistan desert, not far from Bahawalpur, also known as the city of nawabs, is losing its grandeur with every passing day. The word Cholistan means land of the desert. Most of its people are nomadic and semi-nomadic, wandering to find water sources and green pastures for their camels and cattle. Though Cholistan is better known now for its jeep rallies, taking place every year for the last many years, the Fort remains one of the region’s most significant, albeit neglected, tourist attractions.

Some of the details one learns about on visiting a tourist attraction are not mentioned in textbooks. The Derawar Fort has a number of underground tunnels and jails for prisoners who never saw the light of day again. It also has old, historic cannons all around the Fort. In 2021, a Google doodle marked Pakistan’s independence day featuring the Derawar Fort. It said, “each of these ancient stone fortresses rises nearly 100 feet from the sand and comprises an imposing symbol of Pakistani adaptability and antiquity”. Google said the forts “served as critical infrastructure for both the protection and nourishment of desert caravans on their journeys across Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent.”

Derawar Fort is more than a kilometre in circumference and 30 metres high, with 40 bastions rising out in the middle of the desert where the temperature drops dramatically at night. Local and international travellers stop by to marvel at this masterpiece of architecture. It would be nice though if they didn’t litter it with disposable water bottles and other trash.

Though Cholistan is better known now for its jeep rallies, taking place every year for the last many years, the Fort remains one of the region’s most significant, albeit neglected, tourist attractions.

Just before the coronavirus pandemic hit the world in March 2020, I paid a visit to the Cholistan desert for the first time with the travel company Ghoomo Phirro co-founded by Zeeshan Malik and Zaira Syed. Derawar Fort is located 48 kilometres from Dera Nawab Sahib. According to UNESCO it was completely restored and expanded between the 16th and the 18th Centuries by powerful local rulers. The motto of Ghoomo Phirro is simple, ‘Explore like a local’ to hear the stories and adventures of the locals and travel in the company of like-minded people. It is a travel company and an adventure shop that aims to provide enthusiasts with memorable travel experiences and adventure equipment. As someone who had not been to the region before, I had no idea about the heritage sites, their current situation and their significance until the visit.

The once mighty fort is in a state of ruin. Its once impregnable walls are crumbling with no sign of help from the government authorities. It was heartbreaking to witness the decay of a fortress that had stood tall during historical regional wars.

Derawar Fort was built in the Ninth Century by Rai Jajja Bhatti; a Rajput ruler. The fort was later seized by the nawabs of Bahawalpur. Most of Cholistan’s permanent residents have a nomadic lifestyle. The Abbasi Masjid – a replica of Delhi’s Jamia Masjid in Lal Qila – is located right in front of the Derawar Fort.

According to the UNESCO, “The medieval forts of Cholistan desert are a group of up to a dozen structures, some standing and some deteriorated. Derawar Fort is the best surviving example of this series of historic forts, some dating from pre-Mughal times, but all restored and expanded from the 16th to 18th Century by powerful local clans…. These structures form a network across the desert landscape. They served to protect and enable the desert caravan routes; mercantile routes from Central Asia to the heartland of the sub-continent and pilgrimage routes between Mecca and India.”

I embarked on this journey riding a camel. I named it Beta. This was the first camel ride of my life. The first word I shouted when I was riding the camel was Betaaa. The ride started opposite Derawar Fort and ended at a graveyard that we were not allowed to access. The gates were locked. We made our way back to the Fort. The secret tunnels of the Fort provided escape routes for soldiers. The verandahs were host to many mehfils for the privileged. The broken steps and bricks spoke of the wealth of the nawabs and what it might have taken for them to fight for this fortress.

The locals speak Seraiki and live in small huts that mean the world to them. A person like me can’t even imagine what it must feel like living in front of a fort that was once one of the mightiest structures ever built. There’s a lot of trash in the fort now. Bricks are missing in many places, giving an overall impression of having been abandoned.

Heritage sites are the property of future generations. I urge the authorities and archaeologists to take necessary measures to restore and preserve these before it’s too late.

The writer is affiliated with Columbia  University School of Arts’s Digital  Storytelling Lab and TED. She can be reached at mariamskchannel @gmail.com