lovelypunjab

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

LAHORE FORT ( Shahi Qila Lahore)

ROYAL FORT- LAHORE: Although most parts of the Royal Fort were constructed around 1566 A.D. by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar the Great, there is evidence that a mud fort was in existence here in 1021 A.D. as well, when Mahmood of Ghazna invaded this area. Akbar demolished the old mud fort and constructed most of the modern Fort, as we see it today, on the old foundations.
The Royal Fort is rectangular. The main gates are located alongside the centre of the western and eastern walls. Every succeeding Mughal Emperor as well as the Sikhs, and the British in their turn, added a pavilion, palace or wall to the Fort. Emperor Jahangir extended the gardens and constructed the palaces that we see today in the Jehangir's Quadrangle, while Shah-Jehan added Diwan-e-Khas, Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) and his own Sleeping Chambers.
Aurangzeb built the impressive main gate which faces the Hazoori Bagh lying in between the Badshahi Mosque and the Fort.
The Famous Sheesh Mahal or Palace of Mirrors is in the north-east corner of the Fort. This is the most beautiful palace in the Fort and is decorated with small mirrors of different colours set. The part of the wall of the Elephant Steps towards the Fort's inner gate are scarred by bullet marks, bearing testimony to the Sikh Civil War of 1847 A.D.
The Sleeping Chamber of Mai Jindan houses a very interesting museum with relics from Mughal and the Sikh periods.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Badshahi Mosque, Lahore (page 4)

(Page 4)

Badshahi Mosque, Lahore (page 3)

Page (3)

Badshahi Mosque, Lahore (page 2)

Beautiful Images of Badshahi Mosque

Badshahi Mosque, Lahore (page 1)

The Badshahi Mosque (بادشاھی مسجد) or "Emperor's Mosque" was built in 1673 by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan. It is one of the city's best known landmarks and a major tourist attraction epitomising the beauty and grandeur of the Mughal era.

Capable of accommodating over 55,000 worshippers, Badshahi is the second largest mosque in Pakistan, after the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad. The design of the Badshahi Masjid is closely related to the Jama Masjid in Delhi, India, which was built in 1648 by Aurangzeb's father, Emperor Shah Jahan.

Badshahi Masjid is one of the famous locations where Qari Basit (1927-88), a widely acclaimed Egyptian Qur'anic Recitor, recited the Qur'an.

Lahore

The city of Lahore is the capital of the Punjab. It occupies a central position, and is generally called 'The Heart of Pakistan'. Lahore is situated on the banks of the Ravi . Lahore is a city of gardens, and has the reputation of being the 'Green City'. It occupies a choice site in the midst of fertile alluvial plains. Lahore is the city of poets, artists and the center of film industry.
Ptolemy's "Geographia", written about 150 AD, refers to it as "Labokla" and locates it with reference to the Indus, the Ravi, the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers. Another place revealed that it was founded by Loh the son of Rama Chandra.

However the accorded history of Lahore dates back to 850 AD., conquered by Mahmood Gaznavi in 1021 AD, it was made the capital of the Ghaznavid east of Indus and later captital of entire Ghaznavid Empire by Masud, son of Mahmood.

It was then that Lahore became the centre of social, cultural and educational activities reaching the pinnacle of its glory under the Mughals who gave it its famous architecture including the magnificent fort, gardens, tombs, mosques and pavilions. Some of the old names of Lahore can be observed as: