Pakistan
Multan
City of saints — blue-tiled Sufi shrines where qawwali singing erupts spontaneously at dusk.
Cobalt and turquoise tilework catches the last light as voices rise from the shrines below. In Multan, Pakistan's City of Saints, qawwali singing begins without warning at the tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam — a 14th-century octagonal tower sheathed in blue tiles that is visible from kilometres across the Punjab plains. The music builds, the devotees sway, and the city hums with a devotion older than the Mughals.
Multan is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in South Asia, with archaeological layers dating back over 5,000 years. Its identity, however, is defined by Sufi Islam. The shrines of Bahauddin Zakariya and Shah Rukn-e-Alam — two 13th-century Sufi saints — are clad in geometric blue, white, and turquoise tilework that influenced Mughal funerary architecture for centuries. Qawwali performances erupt spontaneously on Thursday evenings at the shrines, continuing until dawn with no admission and no schedule. The city's bazaars specialise in blue pottery, hand-embroidered camel-leather goods, and Multani sohan halwa — a dense, saffron-laced caramelised sweet made here for generations. The walled inner city retains Mughal-era gate towers and narrow lanes where craftsmen work in premises their grandfathers used.
Solo
Multan is a solo traveller's immersion. Sitting among devotees at a Thursday night qawwali session — no tickets, no tourists, just voices and blue tiles — is an experience that unfolds only for those who arrive alone and stay.
Couple
The tilework, the music drifting from the shrines at dusk, the bazaars selling blue pottery and saffron sweets — Multan has an atmospheric warmth that makes it one of Punjab's most underrated destinations for two.
- The shrine of Bahauddin Zakariya, built 1262, still draws Sufi pilgrims who circle the tomb and press their foreheads to the marble.
- Qawwali singing erupts at the major shrines on Thursday evenings — not performance, but active devotion that lasts until midnight.
- Multan's blue-glazed pottery, made from a local clay body and fired with cobalt from Central Asia, has been produced here for 900 years.
- The old city's lanes are dense enough to lose the heat of the Punjab summer — mud-brick walls and narrow alleys create natural shade throughout.
Multani sohan halwa — a brittle, amber sweet made with ghee and saffron, crumbling at first bite.
Sajji roasted whole in tandoors, the skin crackling and the meat falling off the bone.
Lassi so thick it is served in bowls, not glasses — topped with a skim of cream.
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