SAARC First Ladies visit Bhaktapur

Three of the four First Ladies who came to Kathmandu, Nepal for the 18th SAARC Summit, visited Bhaktapur on Thursday, and termed their stay there as "very interesting".

Pakistan's First Lady Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif, Maldives' First Lady Fathima Ibrahim and Nepal's First Lady Sujata Koirala were joined on the trip by the spouses of the foreign ministers of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Sabitri Neham Peiris and Shaheen Ali.

The First Ladies began their Bhaktapur tour with a stroll around Bhaktapur's Durbar Square, a landmark in the city believed to be built between the 12th and 15th century.

The stroll was followed by a visit to the art museum situated in the Durbar Square itself.

There was a small exhibition organized by Bhaktapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry in view of their visit, showing the traditional handmade items as woodcraft and clothes.

The hand-made pashmina and the traditional handloom drew the attention of the most of the First ladies, reports Kantipur Online.

The VVIP guests then walked towards the five-story Taumadi Temple, another marvel of this ancient town. Kalsoom Sharif interacted with the media during her visit.

Others continued their walk, listening to the briefing about the site by an official from the Department of Archaeology.They stopped by a Nyatapol Cafe, a cafe that is built in the temple styled building.

They also saw a cultural dance performance titled 'Devi Pyakha', which was in the 'Dabali' or open stage. The dance described the co-existence between gods and goddesses and their creations, birds and animals.

Devi Pyakha is a traditional Newari dance of three Hindu Goddesses, Mahakali, Kumari and Mahalaxmi.

The guests had tea/coffee and cookies during their visit.