The Restored Swat Museum

After the numerous time of closure damage caused by the armed variance in Swat now the restoration work has been begun. The Swat Museum is finally opened for the visitors. The Italy supports the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Rs 221 million to restore and build the Swat Museum. It is located on the main Mingora-Saidu Sharif Road in the jewel of Swat. 50 per cent of the total budget of the project is dedicated to the renovation of the Swat Museum, while the rest will be spend on excavations, refurbishment, awareness programmes and defense of 11 major sites. The museum will be again served as a popular tourist attraction in Swat, as well as function as a centre for cultural activities. The restoration of  the museum is a huge step towards refurbish of the Swat valley to its former standing as a top tourist destination in Pakistan and the world over. It is of no doubt that the provincial government and other donor organizations are making great effort to promote tourism in the valley again.

The Swat museum was one of the principal tourist attractions in the picturesque glamouring valley of Swat and has a huge compilation of Gandhara sculptures from the Buddhist sites in Swat. The museum was originally constructed by the Wali of Swat and the Italian Mission in 1958. It was the time when  the twin Museum of Rome was also inaugurated named Museo Naziolae d’Arte Orientale. The current building is constructed in different phases. First  the building was severely damaged by the earthquake of 2005 and the 2^nd time the tragic bomb blast devastated the museum in February 2009.

The museum was funded partly by the Japanese.  The excellent Swat Museum has an initial interest in Buddhist Swat.  Butkara No 1 and Udegram  treasures like Gandharan-style statuettes and friezes which depict the lives of the Buddha settled into the museum. In other rooms of the museum the pre-Buddhist artefacts and ethnographic  galleries by traditional carved Swati furniture, jewellery and some wonderful embroideries are also settled.

The Swat Museum is on the east face of the lane, halfway between Mingora and Saidu. Japanese aid gives a new trendy style to a Swat museum with rearrangements and new labelization to illustrate the Buddha's life story. Terracotta figurines and utensils, beads, precious stones, coins, weapons and various metal objects illustrate daily life in Gandhara. The ethnography section displays the finest examples of local embroidery, carved wood and tribal jewellery. It is actually under renovation with Pakistan-Italian Debt Swap Agreement funds.

The jewel of Pakistan is again opened for the domestic and international tourist. The cheap flights to Islamabad is an adding flair to the restoration of Swat Valley.