Khaplu

Khaplu is a settlement of Baltistan on an alluvial fan above the Shyok River, east of its junction with the Indus. It was the seat of a line of rulers known as the Yabgo, a title recalling the Turkish yabghu. The valley lay on routes linking Baltistan with Ladakh, and its rulers fought several wars with their eastern neighbours.

Islam spread into this once largely Buddhist region through preachers who crossed the mountain routes. Khaplu's Chaqchan Mosque, one of Baltistan's old mosques, combines a timber framework with stone, earth and a surrounding veranda. Local accounts associate its foundation with the preacher Ali Hamadani. In the sixteenth century the ruler of Khaplu had to defend his kingdom against a combined attack from Skardu and Shigar, two other powers of Baltistan.