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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by A. Hodgson 



A MOHAMMEDAN SHRINE IN THE HINDU STYLE 



The Moslems of Kashmir are said to be Hindus at heart and for them the abstract 

 religion of the Prophet has little appeal. Their shrines are brightly decorated and contain 

 much of the fine wood carving for which the artisans of northern India are famed. 



Our way lay through Islamabad, up 

 the side of a steep karewah to Martand, 

 down again to Bawan, and on up the val- 

 ley by a wide level cart-road, on either 

 side of which were stretches of heavy- 

 headed rice ready for the sickle, on to 

 Eishmakam. 



Islamabad is the second town in Kash- 

 mir, with 20,000 people. Quaint as it is, 

 with its latticed windows and overhang- 

 ing balconies, it especially interested us 

 as the place where gubbas are manufac- 

 tured. These are curtains embroidered 

 chiefly in chain stitch, of various colored 

 wools, on a red, green, or blue wool back- 

 ground, with a border of contrasting 

 color. They sell in New York for $12.00 ; 

 in Islamabad the same size and quality 

 can be bought for $1.60. 



Three miles from Islamabad, over the 

 rice-covered top of a kareivah, on the 

 slope which joins it to the mountain be- 



hind, stands the temple of Martand, the 

 finest and most picturesque ruin in Kash- 

 mir. It interested me personally more 

 than Amernath, because of a beautiful 

 description I had read, and I looked with 

 longing eyes for the first glimpse of its 

 gray walls in the distance. 



The temple proper is situated in the 

 center of a quadrangle about 250 feet 

 long and 150 feet wide, inclosed by a 

 beautiful colonnade of pillared arches 

 and fluted columns with Doric capitals, 

 84 in number. The northwest corner of 

 this colonnade is now a mass of loose 

 stones. The northeast corner is best pre- 

 served. The main gateway is on the 

 west, but all that remains of it are two 

 thick walls of stone from which the carv- 

 ing has been almost obliterated. 



The temple originally included a cen- 

 tral building consisting of two rooms 

 joined by a thick arch, which have been 



