Murree

Murree is a mountain resort city in the northernmost region of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Lying in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range under the western Himalayas, it is located in the northeast of the capital city of Islamabad. The town was built in the mid-19th century and served as the summer capital of the British Punjab, allowing British troops to escape the scorching heat of the plains of Punjab. It has an average altitude of 2,291 metres (7,516 ft).

Construction of the town was started in 1851 on the hills of Murree as a sanatorium for British troops. The permanent town of Murree was constructed in 1853 and a church was consecrated shortly thereafter. One main road was established, commonly referred to as "Mall Road". Murree was the headquarters of the colonial Government of the Punjab Province during the 1873–1875 summer; later the summer capital was moved to Shimla.

Murree became a popular tourist station for British citizens of the British Raj. It is the birthplace of several prominent Britons including Bruce Bairnsfather, Francis Younghusband, Reginald Dyer and Joanna Kelley. During the colonial era, access to commercial establishments was restricted for non-Europeans. Such establishments included Lawrence College, Murree.

Since the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Murree has retained its position as a popular hill station, noted for its pleasant summer weather. It is located close to the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area from where it attracts huge number of tourists. The town also serves as a transit point for tourists visiting Azad Kashmir and Abbottabad. The town is noted for its Tudorbethan and neo-gothic architecture. The Government of Pakistan owns a summer retreat in Murree, where foreign dignitaries including heads of state often visit.

Murree or Marhee also spelt Marhi which means high place, as it was then called, was first identified as a potential hill station by Major James Abbott in 1847. When Abbott arrived at the site he wrote:

"I was probably the first Englishman that had ever set foot upon it... I saw here for the first time the magnificent mass of Mount Maachpoora of which I had heard and dreamed so much, presenting toward the River Jelum a stupendous surface of precipice. Its summit is densely covered with cedar forests and is the resort of Jogies and alchemysts from India, who hold watch there by night expecting, by dint of certain incantations and ceremonies, to discern the spirits which alight as flames of fire upon plants profes-sing alchemical properties."

The town's early development was in 1851 by the president of the Punjab Administrative Board, Sir Henry Lawrence. It was originally established as a sanatorium for British troops garrisoned on the Afghan frontier. Officially, the municipality was created in 1850.

The permanent town of Murree was constructed at Sunnybank in 1853. The church was sanctified in May 1857, and the main road, Jinnah Road, originally known as Mall Road and still commonly referred to as "The Mall", was built. The most significant commercial establishments, the General Post Office, general merchants with European goods, tailors and a millinery, were established opposite the church. Until 1947, access to Mall Road was restricted for "natives" (non-Europeans).