Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal, a distinguished poet, a brilliant scholar and a gifted philosopher, called this city “Isle of Bliss”. Yes, I am talking about “Munich”, the third largest city in Germany, in terms of population, about which the famous US writer, journalist and novelist Ernest Hemingway had once said, “there is no other place like Munich, and the rest in Germany (all places) is a waste of time.”

Munich is also the state capital of the German federal state of Bavaria. Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal had received his Ph.D. degree from Ludwig Max Millen University in the same city.

During a trip to Europe, in October 2019, one of my friends, Mr. Hasnain Nazish, and I got an opportunity to visit few places in this historic city. On October 19, 2019, when I and my travel companion, Mr. Hasnain Nazish, arrived at the Tourist Information Center near Munich Central Station to seek guidance, a tall German man greeted us with a friendly smile and told us about the city. While guiding us and giving us more information about this charming city, he also told us that Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal liked the city of Munich more than other cities in Germany.

The historical places we had the chance to see that day included Odeonsplatz, The Munich Residenz or the Palace and Museum of the Past Monarchs, Hofgartrn or the Royal Garden with Dianatempel or Temple of Goddess Diana, Max- Joseph-Platz or Max Millen Square and the Feldherrnhalle or Field Marshal Hall.

Writer & Photographer: Zahid Zaman Qureshi