The Walled City

!لہور لہور ﺍﮰ
There is no place like Lahore.

جِہنے لہور نئیں ویکھیا، اوہ جمیا ای نئیں۔
One who hasn't seen Lahore, hasn't been born.

I am not a Lahori but I grew up hearing these words and praises about Lahore. Being raised in Southern Punjab, Lahore did hold some fascination as a child as it was the most developed city in all aspects.

Like my university, I have a love-hate relationship with the city. It's beautiful, it offers better opportunities but for some reason, I have never come to terms with it for egoistic reasons (like if it's a person). It's good for visiting, but I can't imagine myself living there again.

Before I drift away any more, I should write about my latest experience of the city which has somewhat softened my rigid opinions about it.

It's my fourth consecutive post about the city. So far, I have written about the border, birthday, and university. Those blogs were mostly personal but the events happened in the city. However, this post will be an insight into the culture and some history of Lahore itself.

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When I think about Lahore, the first thing that comes to my mind is a canal (60km long) that runs through the entire city. It was initially built by the Mughals and later on, upgraded by the British to meet the irrigation needs in the area. This canal is just one element of the city's rich cultural heritage.

Lahore has remained the second seat of the Mughal Empire and the capital of Punjab since the British Empire. It has always received the love from royals and politicians of all times, which makes the city so rich in culture, history, architecture, art, and cuisine.

I visited all the hotspots in the city as a child, then as a student but it was my first time with my kids. My elder is a geography and history fanatic. It was his wish to visit the old Lahore.

It was scorching hot which made us reluctant to do any outdoor activities. But during our stay, we planned to have dinner at the famous Food Street in old Lahore. From there, some historical places were within walking distance. So, it was convenient to visit, more like killing two birds with one stone.

The old city is also known as The Walled City. The first Mughal Emperor held his court in Lahore for 14 years in the 1500s. He constructed a mud wall around the city, making a parallelogram, and installed 12 or 13 gates for defensive reasons. The present Lahore has been extended into the neighbouring towns and with increasing population, it's still expanding. The new Lahore is modern, but the old one (Walled City) has preserved history in the form of architecture, art, food, and culture.

We opted for Haveli restaurant for dinner, which is an architectural landmark. Haveli is an Urdu word for mansion, and this restaurant is inside an actual Haveli from the past, which was restored later on for the business.

^{Haveli Restaurant, Lahore}

The vibrant colours of the building truly depict the culture of old Lahore. But the indoor vibes are completely different from the vibrancy of the facade. The insides are dimly lit creating an effect of candle or torch-lit corridors. There's an antique museum on the ground floor and a restaurant on the 4th floor.

The specialty of this restaurant is that it offers a beautiful view of the famous Badshahi mosque. We sat indoors for the air-conditioner. You can see the mosque from the window. It looked majestic in real; the picture doesn't do it justice. The view from the rooftop without windows in between was even more spectacular, but I couldn't take a picture from there.

But no problem, I got to take a lot of pictures while standing in front of the mosque later on. Haveli was a total vibe - a place that teleports you to the mansion of a Mughal aristocrat. I only know that it's called Haveli Khalil Khan and nothing about the links to Mughals, but it does have a regal tendency.

I didn't take pictures of the absolutely delicious food. Later, I strolled in the street and marveled at pretty structures.

I was tempted to go inside this beautiful white restaurant but I already had dinner and there was a lot more to see.

^{There was this stall of puppet show. The guy was oblivious to the world. So I have no clue about the performance. Although I liked the cute little puppets of the Mughals.}

While roaming around, I saw a jewelry and souvenir shop which I couldn't resist visiting. I bought a pair of beautiful mint green jhumkas (earrings) and a ring with a champagne pink stone. I can't stroll past a jewelry shop without getting something.

At the end of the street, there was a kind of gate that led us to a huge opening with entrances to Badshahi mosque, Lahore Fort, and Hazoori Bagh. It was dark, otherwise I would have taken a picture in Panorama mode. The Lahore Fort was also closed for the day. It's a place worth visiting and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lahore's historical tour is incomplete without it.

This minar (pillar) you see above is one of the Badshahi Mosque's. Mosques are generally open all the time, so we went inside, and this is what you see when you climb a few dozen stairs and walk into a grand opening of the courtyard. 👇

^{The Badshahi Mosque is a Mughal-era imperial mosque located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was constructed between 1671 and 1673 during the rule of Aurangzeb, opposite the Lahore Fort on the northern outskirts of the historic Walled City. It is widely considered to be one of the most iconic landmarks of the Punjab. source}

It's the third largest mosque in Pakistan, which can accommodate 100,000 worshippers at a time. I think I took two dozen pictures of it. The white domes and red stone minarets look magnificent under the dark sky.

Through one of the corridors of the mosque, we were able to spot Minar-e-Pakistan.

This tower/monument was built between 1960 and 1968 at the site where the Pakistan Resolution was passed by the All India Muslim League in 1940. It was the first official call for a separate homeland for the Muslims of British India.

Every corner in the walled city has a story to tell. I couldn't ignore this colourful wall which stood tall behind a group of qawwals (musicians). I wanted to explore more but had to drag myself back to the car because it was late.

It appears that the first two statements about Lahore aren't mere rhetoric lines. Lahore does have a different vibe.

As I wind up this blog, I can't help but think about a song which is a representation of Mughal culture and is based on a love story between Mughal Prince and a lady Anarkali who was rumoured to be a courtesan.

Although this culture of entertainment (dance and courtesanship) like shown in the song is forbidden in Islam but the history of Mughals and Walled City had many such stories.

That prince who was later known as Jahangir Emperor built a tomb for her love in Lahore which was later occupied by Sikhs and then used as office and then citadel by British and now used as Punjab Archives in Pakistan.