SATEEN JO AASTAN (SEVEN SISTERS)

Sateen Jo Aastan is located on the left bank of the Indus River near Rohri, Sindh, Pakistan. The site is home to the folklore of the Seven Sister, but is also the tomb of Mir Ab Al-Qasim Namkeen. Although the place is not too big, the Indus River has made beautiful and peaceful.  Visitors can relax and spot blind dolphins in the Indus, while looking at the Lansdowne Bridge in the background. 

Seven Sisters
Rohri, also known as Sateen Jo Aastan, is the resting place for the Seven Sisters. According to folklore seven beautiful unmarried women resided here and veiled (purdah) themselves from all males, also referred to as sattei. A Raja at that time came to know about their beauty and ordered his people to bring those seven sisters in front of him. When the seven sisters heard they became very scared and they started to pray. Suddenly the earth turned downward and those seven unmarried sisters died or they disappeared in a cave. The folklore has its origins in the Hindu ritual of sati, where widows burnt themselves on their dead husband's pyre.

Tomb of Mir Abu Al-Qasim Namkeen 
In reality, however, this is the burial place of a ruler from Sukkur, Mir Abu Al-Qasim Namkeen (1553). The tomb complex was ordered to be built by him and constructed in the ochre stone similar to that used in the necroplis of Makli Hill. Inscriptions and Quranic verses in the finest Naskh script adorn the walls and interior of these structures. Rows of hujras (rooms on the ground floor) were constructed for travelers and students. The famous blue tiles of Sindh were used to enhance the aesthetic impact.

A small mosque on the upper level and the western section is profusely embellished with blue, turquoise and white tile-work. Tradition states that when the Mir completed this fine complex, he would retire to it on full moon nights with friends and courtiers and entertain them to music, mangoes, sweets, honey and watermelons. The grand remnant of a bygone era is, unfortunately, in a state of ruin though it is a popular resort for picnickers and tourists.

On one of the smaller hills that arises out of the river bank on the south has a leveled platform on which there are many carved gravestones like those on the Makli Hill at Thatta with chain ornaments and panels of Arabic quotations from the Quran. The entire space between the graves is paved and a flight of stairs leads up to the platform from the southside. Enameled tiled work is freely used on these tombs, most of which are dated between 1609 and 1883 AD. The principal grave is that of Mir Qasim one of the Sabzwari Shahids dated 1018 AD. This was probably the grave that sanctified the place, and the lamp post and lamp that were placed in front of it are still there; and it gives the name of Than Qasim Shah to the hill. However, it is more popularly known as the hill of the seven virgins.