My trip to Islamabad

During Oxford's long Easter vacation, I accepted an invitation from my friend Mohammad to go with him on a trip to his home country of Pakistan. I was delighted to get to travel to a part of the world I had never visited before. I grabbed my passport and my camera, and the next thing I knew I was on a plane headed toward Pakistan.

The weather was cloudy when we landed, and by the time we reached home it was raining. I felt a bit cold and regretted on not bringing my scarf. This oversight was Kyle's fault because he naively thought Pakistan would be hot and thus didn't pack it for me in my backpack.

We landed in Islamabad, the capital of the country, which is also where Mohammad lives. Pakistan gained its independence in 1947 -- the same year as neighboring India -- but Islamabad was not built to be its capital until the 1960s. Because Islamabad was designed from the ground up to be a capital, it is centered around a lot of government buildings, and many of the people who live there work for Pakistan's government.

Pakistan has two national languages, English and Urdu. Mohammad knows English very well, but he mostly speaks Urdu when he is home in Pakistan. It was interesting for me to get used to people speaking a different language around me.

Mohammad and his brother Ahmad showed me around the different areas of the city. First, they took me to the Parliament house, where the National Assembly (the elected body of the people) meets to make Pakistan's laws.

Here I am in front of Pakistan's Parliament building.

After that, we got out of the car and went horseback riding in the nearby park. We rode our horses to the Pakistan Monument. The monument is a huge venue with an amazing garden filled with colorful flowers and a fun museum. Its main building depicts the Pakistani flag, which is green with a crescent and star. To my friends in Ms. Kelly's class -- can you find a picture of Pakistan's flag? What other flags depict a crescent and star? Do you know why this is a popular symbol?

The best part of the Pakistan Monument was that it was built on a hill, so when I stood at the monument I was able to have an aerial view of Islamabad.

Here's a picture of me riding my horse in Islamabad.

In this picture, I'm standing in the garden in front of the Pakistan Monument.

After that, my friends took me to the Faisal Mosque. A mosque is a religious building where Muslims pray. Pakistan's national religion is Islam, and Mohammad and Ahmad's whole family is Muslim. The Faisal Mosque is the largest mosque in Pakistan. It is located at the foot of the Margalla Hills, so it is particularly beautiful.

Here I am in front of the Faisal Mosque. You can see the Margalla Hills in the background.

After that, I went out to try some Pakistani food. My friends took me to the Food Street in Islamabad, which is a long alley with all sorts of delicious food. The whole street smells wonderful! I tried the chicken biryani, which is a dish made from rice and chicken with spices. It was very, very tasty!

This is the biryani I ate on Food Street. Mmm!

All in all, I had an amazing time in Pakistan. I have since flown back to Oxford, but I know that I definitely want to go back to Pakistan in the future!

--Benny