VIRTUAL ISTANBUL HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

In 1852, a couple of years after the British annexation of the Punjab in 1849, a new cantonment was laid out in the outskirts of an old walled town of Sialkot. This cantonment was one of the earliest cantonments developed in the Punjab. Although the Sialkot Cantonment was apparently developed for strategic and political purposes, its development in the outskirts of a historic town of Sialkot marks a new beginning to this town’s landscape and urban morphology beyond the walls. The scale and layout together with architecture of its buildings and houses reflects a significant departure from the age old tradition, signalling new urban lifestyle in contrast to the natives’ living heritage, this paper argues. The paper continues to discuss the civil station or Kutchery that emerged between the old walled city and the new cantonment as a contested space where the two distinct cultures meet and create spaces of cultural interactions, with civic and public buildings as well as commercial and industrial buildings. An analysis of old city maps and other archival documents is conducted, along with the study of contrasting architectural heritage via a detailed field survey. The paper concludes the importance of understanding the development of this historic town during the colonial rule, that then grew to become an important industrial city as a district headquarter during the colonial and post-colonial times. It further implies that the transformation of this town during the colonial times continues to impact this town’s present and future development.