At first glance, the Amburiq mosque in Shigar bears little resemblance to a traditional mosque. The 14^th century mud and wood structure which was designed by a Kashmiri architect, deviates from the conventional architectural pattern due to its visibly tall insignia. A closer inspection, however, reveals its mosque-like features that have been shaped by years of history and events that have transpired in the Shigar valley, 35km east from Skardu, in Baltistan.

Read More: Amburiq Mosque: Restored Spirituality

Nagar Valley, located north-east of Gilgit town along the Karakoram Highway, has lost much of its built heritage over the years and almost all its once-majestic forts.  “The loss of historic forts isn’t just a loss of buildings, it’s much more than that,” says resident Ismail Nashad who, under the banner of Anjuman Fikr-o-Sukhan, is striving to restore the forts. “We have lost precious heritage, that which belonged to our ancestors.”

Read More: Precious Heritage: Of Forts Long Gone

The Chuha Gujar Bridge stands above Bara River and near the Chuha Gujar village. A Mughal-era construction probably built during Shah Jehan’s rule in 1629, the bridge is 100 yards long and six yards wide with six-foot tall pillars on each side. The pillars are topped with beautiful domes which add to the grandeur of the bridge. Two of the domes, however, have fallen off. As is typical of Mughal architecture, there are 12 arched tunnels or water ways running under the bridge.

Read More: Mughal Bridge Still Stands Tall Over Bara River

A historical fort in Punjab may be getting the long-awaited attention it appears to desperately need. The 17th century Sheikhupura fort, which lies at the heart of Sheikhupura city some 35 kilometres away from Lahore, has been in a state of neglect and disrepair for years. In 2011, some hope for the fort, built by Mughal king Jahangir, appeared when the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) awarded a $0.8 million grant for the fort’s conservation. But the conservation project, which was supposed to be finished by 2014, ran into delays due to administrative issues even before it started.

Read More: Renovations to Begin at Mughal-era Fort

Khaplu Palace in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) has received an Award of Distinction in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards 2013 for cultural heritage conservation. The ceremony was held earlier this month in Bangkok to award initiatives which restored and conserved structures that are at least 50 years old. The palace, built in the 1840s by Yabgo Raja of Khaplu, is now known as Khaplu Palace and Residence and is managed by Serena Hotels.

Read More: Khaplu Palace Receives UNESCO Award of Distinction

Six of the remaining 12 gates of the walled city of Lahore are being rescued. The Walled City of Lahore Authority is putting millions of rupees into the project with the help of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Experts will start with the Texali and Shah Alam gates. They will, however, be modeled on the Roshnai gate, which was built in the Mughal style, said a restorer. It appears that Sikh or British styles will be eschewed.

Read More: Walled City of Lahore: Six Degrees of Restoration

When Khaplu Palace opened its doors to the public in 2011, people saw, for the first time in 40 years, the 19th Century royal home used by the Dogra rulers. The palace was rescued by the Aga Khan Cultural Service of Pakistan that has restored and turned this Baltistan relic into a boutique hotel. It is located on the upper side of Khaplu Town, south of the River Shyok, in Skardu. Whatever is known about the town has come from the writings by the numerous historians, explorers, researchers and British Indian officials who trekked Skardu’s glaciers in the 19th century.

Read More: Resurrecting an Old Raja’s Palace

Shahi Hammam (Royal Bath), located inside the Delhi Gate [Lahore] is to be restored with help from the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). The restoration will begin from July 22nd 2013 and is set to be completed in a year’s time. Most of the restoration cost of Rs39,498,833 will be borne by the Norwegian embassy.

Read More: Norway to Help Restore the Royal Bath (Shahi Hammam) in Lahore

Karachi might be soaking up all the glamour as the ‘jewel’ of Sindh’s economy today, but about a 1,000 years ago, Mansura – a bustling metropolis built by the Indus River – was where most of the action was. At a lecture organised on Monday [April 8th, 2013] by Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, and Endowment Fund Trust, academics spoke about Mansura – a treasure from Sindh’s past which faces not only danger from the natural elements but encroachers as well. The city was the first Islamic capital of Sindh and a lively economic hub during the Abbasid era.

Read More: Mansura Needs to be Protected