Elum Katha: Embodying and creating a dialogue between the past, present and future to promote and acknowledge Buddhist religious tourism in Swat.

Abstract

Mount Elum is located in the Barikot region of Swat, Pakistan and is surrounded by many ancient Stupas, some containing the ashes of Buddha himself. This area is pivotal and the originating point for the spread of Buddhism in major Asian countries,including Korea and Srilanka. Elum is known to be a sacred mountain of fables and the residing place of Buddha as well. The land holds mystery, knowledge and gems yet to be explored. However, as a repercussion of the era of Taliban and the lack of awareness regarding the promotion of religious tourism by preserving and promoting these sites, these structures are nothing more than ruins. The locals now realise this and action is being taken to preserve the sites. The idea is to promote religious tourism by exploring the memories from the past and allowing people to visit and appreciate these hidden gems of knowledge and our identity. The aim of this thesis is to go back to the ancient edifices and revive the story of Elum by creating nodes across a heritage trail surrounding this mountain and its Stupa’s. The idea is to create spaces on these specific nodes that allow a conversation between time and dimensions, living and dead, mundane and divine and enhance the experience of the heritage trail through metaphors and translating the intangible into tangible. This will elevate the lives of the locals and increase tourism in the vicinity. Elum Katha is a physical representation of a narrative that is to be questioned and explored by heritage and religious tourists.