Sialkot is located 130 km north-east of Lahore and is linked by road and rail with the whole country. It is internationally known for its manufacture of sports goods and surgical instruments.
It is one of the oldest cities in Punjab — identified with ancient Sakala, capital of the Indo-Greek king Menander in the 2nd century B.C. — and lies close to the foothills of Kashmir, near the river Chenab.
Sialkot is also the birthplace of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the poet-philosopher who first set out the idea of Pakistan, and of the poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
Places to see
Iqbal Manzil
The house where Allama Iqbal was born in 1877, now preserved as a museum with his belongings and family memorabilia.
Sialkot Fort
The remains of an ancient fort on a mound in the middle of the old city, one of the oldest sites in Sialkot.
Clock Tower
The British-era Ghanta Ghar at the heart of the city, surrounded by busy bazaars.
Gurdwara Babe di Ber
A Sikh shrine built where Guru Nanak is said to have rested under a ber tree on his travels.
The sports goods industry
Sialkot’s workshops make footballs — many hand-stitched — and equipment for cricket, hockey and other sports for leading international brands, including balls for the football World Cup.
Good to know
- Getting there
- Sialkot has its own international airport, built with funds from the city’s business community, and a motorway links it with Lahore.
- What to buy
- Sports goods, leather goods and musical instruments — Sialkot is one of the world’s largest makers of bagpipes.
- When to go
- October to March. Summers are hot and humid.
Header photo: The clock tower — PakGuru99, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons