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Historic Lahore Attractions |
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At a Glance
Lahore, being an ancient city, is full of architectural treasures. Lahore Museum, which has the most and the finest Mughal artifacts in the world, is a place to start. Minar-e-Pakistan, Badshahi Mosque and Shalimar Gardens are synonymous with the word Lahore. Tomb of Jahangir, Noor Jahan and Badshahi Mosque have magnificent architecture, as do many other buildings across Lahore.
Lahore is also the shoppers paradise. It has many markets and traditional bazaars. Anarkali is perhaps the most famous of the traditional Lahore bazaars.
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Minar-e-Pakistan
In the middle of Iqbal Park in Lahore stands Minar-e-Pakistan, a tall concrete minaret which was built as a tribute to the creation of Pakistan.
This is the exact place where in 1940, the Muslim League passed the famous Lahore Resolution, which demanded a separate homeland for the Muslims of India.
Minar-e-Pakistan is about 60 meters in height. The tower base is raised approximately four meters from the ground and it rises up to approximately 13 meters, forming a sculpted, flower-like base. From this point it tapers as it rises. The base platform is shaped like a five-pointed star and it encloses crescent shaped pools. It is constructed of reinforced concrete, with the floors and walls rendered in stone and marble. Now it is officially recognized as the National Monument of Pakistan.
The Minar-e-Pakistan was designed by Murad Khan, a Turkish architect.
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Badshahi Mosque
Close to Minar-e-Pakistan is the magnificent Badshahi mosque, built under the patronage of the sixth Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb Alamgir. The moque was completed in 1673 under the supervision of Aurangzeb’s foster brother Muzaffar Hussain who was appointed governor of Lahore in May of 1671 and held this post until 1675.
The Badshahi mosque is adjacent to Lahore Fort, one of the most splendid examples of Mughal architecture in Pakistan. The mosque is one of the largest building made during the reign of Aurangzeb, and in terms of space, it is one of the largest mosque in the Indian subcontinent. The area within the mosque measures approximately 150 meters on each side.
The mosque is raised pretty high from the ground level, and steps lead to the main court yard. The Badshahi mosque has close resembles to the Friday Mosque built by Shah Jahan in his new capital, adjoining the Red Fort, in Delhi, although the Badshahi Mosque is a grander structure.
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Shalimar Gardens
The gardens are a masterpiece from the time of the Mughal civilization, which reached its height during the reign of the Emperor Shah Jahan. The gardens were commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1637. The fort contains marble palaces and mosques decorated with mosaics and gilt. The elegance of these splendid gardens, built near the city of Lahore on three terraces with lodges, waterfalls and large ornamental ponds, is unequalled.
Each garden is divided by canals and flowerbeds, following the Persian tradition of the charbagh, or fourfold garden. Each of the 3 parts is on a different level, so that the upper parts are concealed from the view of people entering from below. The highest, and therefore the most private, section is thought to have been used by the imperial women. The channels of water that weave through the whole garden are fed by canals designed and administered by a defector from the Persian court, Ali Mardan Khan, or Inayat Khan, known for his architectural and building expertise. The gardens contain white marble buildings in typical Shah Jahani style. They are enclosed by a red sandstone wall interrupted by small decorative kiosks. The Shalimar Gardens are among the best preserved Mughal gardens.
The Shalimar Gardens are laid out in the form of an oblong parallelogram, surrounded by a high brick wall, which is famous for its intricate fretwork. The gardens measure 658 meters north to south and 258 meters east to west.
In 1981, Shalimar Gardens was included as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, under the UNESCO Convention concerning the protection of the world's cultural and natural heritage sites in 1972.
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Lahore News |
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Yahoo! News Search Results for lahore
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Lahore mourns triple bombing as death toll rises
LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) - The death toll from suicide attacks that targeted a busy procession in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore rose to 31 on Thursday as six people succumbed...
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Lahore police blasted for allowing terror attack despite prior intelligence
Lahore, Sep 2 : Pakistani intelligence agencies have blamed the Lahore police of gross negligence, claiming that it had failed to heed warnings that terrorists would try to target sensitive...
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In Lahore, Mourning for Victims of Attacks
LAHORE, Pakistan -- With the police on high alert, hundreds of people attended funeral prayers here on Thursday for the victims of suicide bombers who attacked Shiite Muslim worshipers on...
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Lahore witness to five terror attacks in 2010
By Awais Saleem, Lahore, Sep 2: Lahore, the capital of Punjab province in central Pakistan, once known for its exquisite gardens and seats of knowledge, has witnessed five terror attacks...
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Lahore suicide blast death toll rises to 31
LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) - The death toll from three suicide bombings in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore rose to 31 on Thursday as six people succumbed to their injuries, a...
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