LAHORE
>> its history
lahore is pakistan's second-largest city (11 mio residents), and the one with the strongest history. it is about 1400 years old - a chinese document from 630 a.d. seems to be the first one mentioning it. around 1000, lahore became the capital of the asian ghaznavid empire. several mongolian invasions followed.
the city's prime time was during the mughal empire (1524 to 1707), and from 1584 to 1598 it replaced agra as its capital. the core area is since called punjab, located in north-east pakistan and north-west india.
major attractions, such as the lahore fort, the "walled city", the badshahi and wazir khan mosques, sikh shrines and the jahangir tomb were built during that time, as well as the shalimar gardens, several of which are now unesco world heritage sites. jahangir was the most important mughal emperor, who ruled from 1605 to 1627.
in 1780 a sikh kingdom was set up, centred in lahore. it began with ransacking all muslim monuments, then established some order. its essential leader was ranjit singh, maharaja of punjab 1801-1839, who tried to modernize lahore.
after his death things soon declined, and in 1849 england began to rule lahore - as in fact whole india.
the british occupation included a cynical conversion of holy buildings, like mosques or tombs, into administration and government institutions - yet they also installed railways and modern industrial facilities. lahore was always a cultural centre, and of education as well. its "university of punjab" was founded in 1882 and is pakistan's oldest (and still leading) one.. at the end of the british rule, lahore was the place where both the declaration of india's independence and the request for founding pakistan took place.
lahore is located at the ravi river, which moves into the indus, pakistan's largest river. the main railway connection, from karachi to rawalpindi & islamabad, goes through lahore. the border to india is 24 km to the east.
>> historic buildings
almost all historic buildings of lahore are located within the "walled city" (see map below). these town walls were first erected around 1000 (?), and in 1584 thoroughly rebuilt. it used to have 13 gates. the fort (citadel) is part of it. most of the walls and gates were destroyed during the british rule. one is shown as a painting. the area inside the "walled city" is still lahore's cultural center, but also a huge shopping district (see marked "bazaar" in the map).
from the fort one can see lots of historical buildings, including minarets.
two examples of high-class mughal architecture are at the centre of the fort.
one memorial place has two soldiers standing in front of it.
not all places can be entered, yet if so, the stunning designs can be looked at.
a colourful mosques survived only just the building of the railway line.
three very impressive cupolas of mosques follow.
in front of a governmental building a historical cannon was placed. three further 'official' buildings (all from british times) are somewhat pompous, including the museum. this official museum has a very large set of art pieces, including paintings.
the famous badshahi mosque can be seen from the fort. in front of it is a reconstruction of the alambiri gate. a photo of the mosque entry follows.
the model shown below indicates who huge this mosque is - the courtyard can host around 100000 citizen.
here are four pictures of details, either stonework or paintings.
at least as famous is the tomb building of the emperor jahangir. it is located in a further historic area, outside, north-west of the old "walled" city, beside the village shahdara bagh. four tomb constructions are there. one got plundered long time ago.
the copious jahangir tomb has four minarets at the encircling wall, soundly designed.
the tomb itself, which fortunately can be visited, is made as finest marble work, truly outstanding.
the tomb of nur jahan is nearby. she was the twentieth and final wife of jahangir, and (so say historians) was by far the most significant and powerful one. there are countless paintings of the two - here is one.
the other two tombs did not endure well.
as part of more recent renovation efforts, even the pathways for visitors were neatly done.
a very different feature of the mughal era were the shalimar gardens, built in 1642 - now also a unesco world heritage site. the length of the area is 650 m, and originally there were 410 fountains.(during my visit, in january, they were not run). below is the design of the gardens, and a painting of guests. and shalimar was even presented on a mail stamp!
there are lots and lots of mosques in lahore, all appearing as traditional and 'old' - yet when they have a clock in the tower, like this one, they aren't...
almost all minarets in lahore are 'pieces of art', richly decorated, and they did not get looted. when lit at night, they certainly look stunning.
thare are quite a few christian churches in lahore as well, mostly erected during great britains "indian empire" (1858-1946). here is one, the catholic "sacred hearts' cathedral.
its tower has not a clock - but the core building of the punjab university (1882) has one - see!
>> life in the inner city
the inner city ~ "walled city" is still the centre of lahore's political and cultural life, plus, a significant shopping area, at least for traditional bazaars, which is always crowded.
this includes hats and especially traditional local caps, available in about every colour.
cafes and restaurants are numerous, from basic ones on the street to rather upmarket ones, usually all well-run.
>> transportation means
for centuries transportation meant: horse and carriage. that's still there, but getting rare.
bicycle are widely used, certainly by poor people. if a bit more wealthy, one can take a taxi. what you see are rickshaws, mostly attached to a motorbike. 'modern' ones may have a gas-fed engine. much cheaper: to sit on the back seat of a bike.
buses are cheap, often overloaded, and always wildly painted - - "applied art".
regarding trains - here are two locomotives which i saw, one historic, one current.
and of course - cars: everywhere all the time, too many many many for most roads...
>> trip to india border
the border to india, east of lahore, is near, only 27 km. lots of truck have to cross it every day. and the cheerful man beside a grim-looking border officer is who? it is my taxi driver, very friendly and very competent.
the border is closed at night, and gets opened in the morning, with a serious (or, for me, ridiculous) procedure. the officers exercise beforehand. and when the opening takes place, both the indian and the pakistan officers, heavily dressed up, follow a symbolic modus operandi. and there are always people who just observe it, like a show...
finally, for your appreciation or amusement - - - here i am, together with a damned serious pakistan officer, who was nevertheless kind enough to allow this photo!
