Gilgit - Gilgit (English spelling)

A town in the northern tip of Pakistan. It is located in a small mountain basin at the southern foot of the Karakoram Mountains, facing the Gilgit River, a tributary of the Hunza River that flows into the upper reaches of the Indus River. The population is about 30,000. The road from Gilgit through the valley of the Hunza River has been an important transportation route connecting inland Asia and the Indian subcontinent since ancient times, and the monk Song Yun of the Northern Dynasty of Later Wei passed through here in the early 4th century, and the monk Faxian of the Eastern Jin Dynasty passed through here in the early 5th century. The Karakoram Highway, completed in 1978, also passes through here. The town is located on a terraced alluvial fan, and there are cliff-carved Buddhas near the transportation route. During the British colonial period, the Gilgit Division was established here, leased from the Kashmir princely state, and used as a defense for the northern border of British India. It became part of Pakistan after the partition and independence of India and Pakistan. Mount Rakaposhi (7,788 meters) rises to the north and serves as the base for climbing the Karakoram mountains.

[Ochi Toshiaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

パキスタン北端部の町。カラコルム山脈南麓(なんろく)の山間小盆地にあり、インダス川の上流部に注ぐフンザ川の支流ギルギット川に臨む。人口約3万。ギルギットからフンザ川の谷を通る道は古くから内陸アジアとインド亜大陸とを結ぶ重要な交通路で、4世紀初めには北朝後魏(こうぎ)の僧宋雲(そううん)が、また5世紀初めには東晋(とうしん)の僧法顕(ほっけん)がここを通過している。1978年完成のカラコルム・ハイウェーもここを通っている。町は段丘化した扇状地上にあり、交通路の近くには磨崖仏(まがいぶつ)が残っている。イギリス領時代にはカシミール藩王国から租借してここにギルギット管区を置き、イギリス領インドの北辺への守りとした。インド、パキスタンの分離・独立によりパキスタンに帰属した。北方にラカポシ山（7788メートル）がそびえ、カラコルム登山の基地となっている。

［応地利明］

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