Upal
Encyclopedia
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. 39°18′N 75°32′E
Karakoram Highway
Today Upal is on the Karakoram HighwayKarakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway is the highest paved international road in the world, but at its peak at the China-Pakistan border it is only paved on the Chinese side. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, through the Khunjerab Pass, at an altitude of as confirmed by both...
, which follows the old Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
route from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Travelling from China, it is about 50 km southwest of Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
, or about 180 km north of Tashkurgan
Tashkurgan
- Karakoram Highway :Today Tashkurgan is on the Karakoram Highway which follows the old Silk Road route from China to Pakistan. Accommodation is available and it is a recommended overnight stop for road travellers from China to Pakistan in order to have the best chance of crossing the snow-prone...
(which is about 120 km over the Khunjerab Pass
Khunjerab Pass
Khunjerab Pass is a high mountain pass in the Karakoram Mountains in a strategic position on the northern border of Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region within the disputed region of Kashmir and on the southwest border of the Xinjiang region of China...
from Sust
Sust
Sust or Sost is a dry port in Gojal region of the Northern Areas of Pakistan. It is the last town inside Pakistan on the Karakoram Highway before the Chinese border...
in Pakistan).
Passenger road service between the Tashkurgan and the Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i cities of Sost
SOST
Sclerostin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SOST gene.-External links:*-Further reading:...
and Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
already exists, and road service between Kashi
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
and Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
(via Tashkurgan
Tashkurgan
- Karakoram Highway :Today Tashkurgan is on the Karakoram Highway which follows the old Silk Road route from China to Pakistan. Accommodation is available and it is a recommended overnight stop for road travellers from China to Pakistan in order to have the best chance of crossing the snow-prone...
and Sust
Sust
Sust or Sost is a dry port in Gojal region of the Northern Areas of Pakistan. It is the last town inside Pakistan on the Karakoram Highway before the Chinese border...
) starts in summer 2006. However, the border crossing between China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
at Khunjerab Pass
Khunjerab Pass
Khunjerab Pass is a high mountain pass in the Karakoram Mountains in a strategic position on the northern border of Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region within the disputed region of Kashmir and on the southwest border of the Xinjiang region of China...
(the highest border in the world) is open only from May 1 to October 15 of every year. During winter, the roads are blocked by snow.
Namesake
upál- in Sanskrit means 'a noble stone', sharing an Indo-European root with the Greek opallios, from which the English word opalOpal
Opal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. 3% to 21% of the total weight is water, but the content is usually between 6% to 10%. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most...
is derived.
Research by Gene Matlock proved presence of an old East Indian caste named Upal that reflects the Hebrew equivalent spelling "Ophal" [Ophel (2 Chr. 28:3)]. The full spelling, however, was Qhpl, for a hill or mound, and came from the verb qhopel for "it swells". By comparison, upálá and aupálá mean merely "stone" and "stony", which is a variant of upárá, both of which were the millstone and slab for the soma
Soma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
weed.