What are Cube Edutours?

As the doors of tourism are again opening for Pakistan to be visited, seen and it’s rich culture experienced by foreigners from all over the world, there is a valuable role our Cube Edu-Tours can play in the creation of an educated, softer and accessible Pakistani image.

The Cube “Edu-Tours” began in 2011. At a time when there was little to no local or international tourism happening in Pakistan, especially in Sind. It was at that point when I discovered that many Pakistanis has little to no awareness of Sinds diverse and rich architectural history.  Along with that of the other provinces.

Since it’s inception, we have been taken groups of Architecture students and school students of all ages, retired adults, teachers and professional adults from other fields not connected to design or architecture to a series of sites all over Sind and to other parts of Pakistan. All the edu-tour groups have been designed with an infusion of historical facts and content which create the context of who we are as a people, nation, culture and identity given a past that one can trace back thousands of years. Unlike any other tour, they focus on the educational facet of our architectural history. The tours look at maps from antiquity to present day and are exposed to the movement of various empires, their interest in this region, the immense importance of our location, geography, landscape and the great River Indus, as the gateway to the rich orient. Each and every one of these tours looks at where the patrons of these magnificent structures came from, our ancestry through them, ways of defining our cultural lineage and looking at the inherent imbedded cultural variety in our own present blood lines. We are not and have not ever been an isolated, inaccessible indigenous people. That diversity is our strength and our pride. To celebrate.

The topics of “culture” & “identity” are often at the mercy of media manipulation. Our tours take those interested in history and our land, back in time to places of immense power, wealth, artistic and design peaks which most are unaware of and never associate with Pakistan. The sites we go to at the moment on our portfolio are the most profound and fundamental ones:

1. Makli Necropolis
2. Ranikot Fort
3. Mohenjodaro
4. Nagarparkar temples
5. Shrines of Sehwan Sharif, Bhit Sha, Sachal Sarmast, Noorani ar the edge of Balochistan, Data Darbar and Madhu Lal in Lahore, Uch Sharif and Bahauddin Zakariya Shrine in Multan
6. Ancient old cities of Lahore, Peshawar, Multan and Bahawalpur
7. Palaces of Bahawalpur
8. Sukkur
9. Khairpur Palaces
10. Kot Diji Fort
11. Darawer Fort
12. Harappa (Punjab)
13. Mehrgarh (Balochistan)
14. Takht-e-Bahi (Mardan)
15. Shigar Astanas & Khanqas
16. Hunza & Shigar Forts
17. Katas Raj Mandir complex
18. Talpur & Kalhoro Tombs (Hyderabad)
19. Chawkandi & Bhambore
20. Kalaash

Each locations history and relevance to Pakistanis as well as international tourists is prepared and shared with the group through Visuals in “pop-up” classrooms set at very site. Local story telling, cuisine, crafts and music are often included for a complete cultural immersion.

Architecture is the best blueprint to learn about our history as people and about the cultures of the people who have influenced us when they came to visit and stayed over the past several millennia.

We believe it would be extremely useful for our government, educational institutes, tourists and visitors to learn about our history through these architectural heritage edu-tours.