KARACHI: Residents of the historic Ranikot Fort in Pakistan’s Sindh province have told the same stories to their children for centuries — that the mountains surrounding the citadel are home to fairies who descend from the skies to drink water from a pool – known as “Paryun Jo Tar” (fairies’ pond) in the wee hours of the day.

So popular is the myth that it is narrated in great detail by all the families — hailing from the Gabol, Khosa, and Rustamani tribes — who live in the Ranikot Fort area which, according to some accounts, was used by Cyrus the Great as his military garrisons.

“Once upon a time, an elder of the Gabol tribe noticed that some exceptionally beautiful creatures came down from the mountains at the break of dawn, drank water, and flew right back into the highlands,” Syed Gayoor Abbas, an official of the culture department who mans the Fort, told Arab News on Wednesday, adding that the pond in the area got its name after the incident.

The huge fort, with a circumference of approximately 32 kilometers, 36 watchtowers, two fortresses, and a gushing spring, connects several mountains of the Kirthar range, the official said, adding that: “The history of this fort has always been a mystery. There are several different and contending narrations.”

“It is built of sandstones and limestones,” he continued, “which have been held together by lime and gypsum plaster that has, with a passage of time, made the structure much harder.”

The fort has four gates: the Sann Gate is the main road entrance; the Shah Per Gate; Amri Gate; and Mohan Gate that faces the famous Mohenjo-Daro historical sites.

The Mirikot fortress, located in the heart of Ranikot, was apparently designed as the administrative center and royal residence, Abbas said, adding that the other small fortress was called Sher Garh, which was built in the mountains.

Its periphery, he added, measured 1,434 feet, with five bastions and a double gate entrance. The stronghold has two arched vaults of sandstone containing gorgeous carvings with a scroll of pomegranates, sunflowers, and peacocks. The fortress was divided into six areas, including three with residential portions that have seven rooms with slanting roofs. “The three flat-roof rooms belong to the British period,” he said.