Multan, being an historic city, attracts a number of tourists every year. When the first settlements established themselves in Multan, access to the city was through a circular road around the rampart that gave access to the city through thirteen gates and even now some of the imposing structures of these gates are still visible and well preserved. The Old City has narrow, colorful bazaars full of local handicrafts and narrow winding lanes. There are many places of historical, cultural and recreational interest in the city. In the bazaars of the Old City one still comes across tiny shops where craftsmen can be seen busily turning out masterpieces in copper, brass, silver as well as textiles in the traditional fashion.
The numerous Sufi shrines within the old city offer impressive examples of workmanship and architecture. The Shams-e Tabriz shrine is built almost entirely of sky-blue engraved glazed bricks. That of Shah Rukn-e Alam (Tughlaq period) has one of the biggest domes in Asia. The shrine of Sheikh Yusuf Gardez is a masterpiece of the Multani style. Other shrines include the Pahladpuri Temple and the Idgah Mosque (1735).
The mausoleum of Shams-ud-Din, commonly known as Shah Shams Tabrez is located about half a mile to the east of the Fort Site, on the high bank of the old bed of the river Ravi. He passed away in 1276 AD and the shrine was built by his grandson in 1 330 AD It was rebuilt by one of his followers in 171 8 AD The Tomb is square, 30 feet in height surmounted by a hemispherical dome. It is decorated with ornamental glazed tiles.
Mausoleum of Rukn-i-AlamThe tomb is located on the
south-West side of the Fort premises.In beauty and grandeur
so other dome perhaps equals it This elegant building is an
octagon, 51 feet 9 inches in diameter internally, with walls
41 feet 4 inches high and 13 feet 3 inches thick, supported
at the angles by sloping towers. Over this is a smaller
octagon 25 feet 8 inches, on the exterior side, and 26 feet
1 0 inches high, leaving a narrow passage all round the top
of the lower storey for the Moazzan, or public caller to
prayers.
The whole is surmounted by hemishperical dome of 58 feet
external diameter. The total height of the building,
including a plinth of 3 feet, is 100 feet. As it stands on
the high ground, the total height above the road level is
150 feet. This contributes materially to the majestic and
colossal appearance of the tomb, making it the most
prominent object of view to the visitors. Besides its
religious importance, the mausoleum is also of considerable
archaeological value as its dome is reputed to be the second
largest in the world after 'Gol Gumbad' of Bijapur (India),
which is the largest.







