Mingora

Mingora (also spelled Mangora or Mingaora) () is the largest city in Swat District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at an altitude of and lies on the banks of River Swat about from Saidu Sharif, the present capital of Swat. As of 1998, the population of Mingora was about 175,000. The city was once a major tourist destination and was described by Queen Elizabeth as the "Switzerland" of the former Empire. However with the rise of Taliban in Pakistan the tourist industry has suffered from clashes between the Taliban and the government. In March 2009 the city, like elsewhere in Swat, came under Taliban rule due to a peace agreement with the government. However the agreement quickly fell apart and in May 2009 government forces were engaged in fierce fighting with the Taliban to end their occupation of the city. The city is controlled by the Army, and the tourists feel fully secured.

History

Many Buddhist remains and carvings have been discovered near Mingora in the Jambill River Valley. At Panr, a stupa and monastery dated to the 1st century CE has been excavated. At Loe Banr and Matalai, Italian archaeologists unearthed 475 Aryan graves dated circa 1700 BCE. <!-- I can't find any information on this at all on the Internet, and moreover, the Aryans didn't bury their dead in graves. -->. On the opposite side of River Swat at Aligrama, near the Saidu Sharif airport, a...
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