It has been learned that a low-key investigation by a team of archaeology experts from Islamabad was carried out a few years ago to validate the tomb claim. Most of the eyewitnesses questioned, believed that the images were genuine and connected to the woman buried on the hilltop who many also regard as a saint. Others describe rare encounters with a ball of light condensing into a fuzzy apparition of a veiled female form. Local residents have reported occasional sightings of unexplained lights in the vicinity of the grave at night. Various superstitions surround the story of the tomb.
Barbed wire surrounds the antennas to prevent anyone from getting near, and civil guards keep a vigil on the installations night and day. The area is closed to the general public due to security concerns for the safety of the television boosters. One of them arises from the same place where Mary is believed to rest.Ī crude-looking cement structure marks the spot nowadays where the alleged grave exists. More recently, in 1968, two towering antennas were added adjacent to one another on 'Pindi Point,' the new name given to the location. This place was preferred due to its suitable elevation for the purpose of installing television transmitters.
Today, it is one of the best girls’ boarding schools in Pakistan.Īfter secession from India, the government of Pakistan procured this site from private landowners. The grave was thereafter promptly repaired.Ī little further down the ridge, the British built a convent and named it the Convent of Jesus and Mary. Shortly afterwards he died in an accident, and the locals connect the incident with his evil intentions towards the tomb. Since an ancient period, Hindus had worshipped it, and the Muslims paid their homage on Thursdays by lighting earthen lamps filled with oil.Ĭommanding, as one book puts it, "magnificent views over forest-clad hills into deep valleys, studded with villages and cultivated fields, with the snow-covered peaks of Kashmir in the background" and overlooking the plains of Punjab, it stood naturally eligible to be selected by the British for defensive purposes, and they built a watchtower at the site.Īccording to old records, "in 1898, Richardson, the Garrison Engineer, wished to demolish the tomb at the time of the construction of the defense tower. The exact origin of the shrine has become obscured by the waves of time. The spelling was later changed to the present one in 1875. Indeed, when the British first arrived here in 1850s to establish a new hill-station in India, Murree was still known as Mari. Among locals it is know as Mai Mari da Asthan ("Resting Place of Mother Mary"). Its importance can be judged from the fact that the surrounding country is named after the supposed gravesite.Īccording to an old legend, the name 'Murree' is derived from 'Marium' or Mary. The site has been maintained and honored as far back as anyone can remember. It is published to show the prominence of Our Lady in a predominantly Muslim country.Īmong various fascinating legends connected with the popular tourist resort of Murree, self-styled as 'Queen of the Hills' in Pakistan, there is the one about the tomb of the Virgin Mary.īelieve it or not, some claim that located on a peaceful Murree hilltop, is the very site thought to be the final abode or resting place of the Mother of Isa (AS) or Jesus Christ-better known to Muslims as Hazrat Marium (AS). Ali Jan does not involve The Marian Library's responsibility as to historical accuracy.
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