This busy metropolis has some of Pakistan s best sites. Lahore has been the capital of the Mughal Empire and of that of the Sikhs.

Lahore is located near the only border crossing with India that is currently open, in the Pakistani part of the Punjab . While you...

This busy metropolis has some of Pakistan s best sites. Lahore has been the capital of the Mughal Empire and of that of the Sikhs.

Lahore is located near the only border crossing with India that is currently open, in the Pakistani part of the Punjab . While you will see many Sikhs on the Indian side of the border, here the people are almost all Muslim. It is linked with rest of the country through mahor roads, ralway and by international airport. It is  linked to the Islambad by  most modern motor way and about 4 hours of pleasurable journey. Lahore is reagarded as  the heart of Pakistan and also the heart  and mind of The Punjab. It is both educational and cultural capital of Pakistan and only  two  and half hours  away from  Harrapa the oldest  civilized  city of the world. Lahore is perhaps the continuation of the  north part of the Great Indus valley civilization.

Geography:

The climate of Lahore is very healthy and salubrious. Except for some days in summer Lahore is a pleasant place to live.

There are two main seasons, namely the winter and the summer. The monsoons are at their peak during July and August, and during these two months there is more than half of the annual rainfall.October and November are the drieat months and average rain fall during these months is about one third of an inch only. There are Winter rains during December - February,the average rainfall during these months being 3 inches.

Lahore in 1999 estimated population was 7million.

Historical Significance:

Lahore is the capital of the Punjab province of Pakistan and is one of the oldest cities of the world. Many believe its history goes back Mahabharata and many others believe that Lahore was established by Loh or Lava, the son of Rama, the renowned hero of the Hindu epic the Ramayana. However, others believe it derives from the word loh-awar, which means a fort as strong as iron and which refers to the fort built to protect the city.
Lahore is on the bank of River Ravi. Lahore has played a significant role in the region. It has been the capital of Punjab province for almost a thousand years. The city first achieved this status during the Ghaznavid dynasty (9771187). It continued as such under the rule of Muhammad of Ghor as well as under several sultans of Delhi . Qutb-ud-din Aibak became the first Muslim sultan in the area after being crowned in Lahore in 1206. From 1524 to 1752, the Mughal dynasty (15261857) raised the level of prominence of Lahore by adding considerably to its architecture and size. Akbar (reigned 15561605) was responsible for overseeing the construction of the Lahore Fort, which was built over an old fort. In addition, he had a red-brick wall with twelve impressive gates constructed around the city. Shah Jahan (15921666) and Janhangir (reigned 16051627) contributed palaces, tombs, and gardens to the city landscape and enlarged the fort. The last great Mughal, Aurangzeb, had the famous monument the Badshahi Mosque built along with the Alamgiri gateway to the fort.
The eighteenth century witnessed constant invasions throughout the region, which laid Lahore open to capture by Ranjit Singh (reigned 18011839) in 1799. His control over Lahore afforded him the legitimacy that he needed to become emperor. Unfortunately, the Sikh era was not kind to Lahore ; the existing structures were not well maintained, and few new ones were built. When the British arrived in Lahore in 1849, they initially constructed practical facilities for the administration of the capital. Later, however, they worked to preserve some of the ancient structures and eventually added their own Victorian style of architecture, named Mughal-Gothic, to the city.

Lahore today:

Lahore is divided into four major parts the old walled city and fort. The British extension of Lahore including The Mall, McLeod Road and other parts The new Lahore which established since independence 1947,the modern Lahore and Lahore Cantonment.
Lahore has one of the oldest universities( Punjab University 1882 ) and medical college( King Edward Medical College and Mayo Hospital ) in South Asia .

Many sights in Lahore go back to the times of the Mughal Emperors. Lahore has its own red Fort, one of the biggest Mosques in the subcontinent and some beautiful gardens like Mughal's Shalimar Garden and British Lawrence Garden .

Lahore is a unique city in the world has many different architecture like Mughal, Sikh, British, a mixture above architectures and modern architecture. And also Lahore is very famous for its huge variety of spicy and delicious foods. Lahore is often regarded as the City of open hearted people who are very friendly and great sense of humor.

Places worth seeing ae Lahore Fort, Badshahi Mosque and mausoleum of Emperor Jahanigir.

Lahore is a major centre of Urdu and Punjabi literature and is the home of major Sufi saints like Data Gang Buksh, Shah Jamal, Mian Mir and Lal Hussain.

Another major place worth visiting is the famous Lahore Museum which has thousand of vey rare motifs, pottery, jewelry coins statutes from pre historic Harrappa civilization to Buddhist period. This museum has rarest Buddhist collections not present any where in the world and also many valuable Mughal and Sikhs and British collections. Other landmarks include the Pearl and Golden mosques, the tomb of Ranjit Singh, and the Wazir Khan mosque, which contains the finest known examples of khashi, or inlaid pottery. Lahore's museum of Indian antiquities, which figures in Rudyard Kipling's Kim, is among the most noted in the East.

The old walled city is a living museum itself where people living still in the way as their forefathers used to live during the Mughal era.

Anarkali bazzar and Shah Alam market and Akbari Mandi are among the market places which are busy since last many centuries.

It is commonly said here the 'one who has not seen Lahore is not born yet'.

Lahore is located centrally in Pakistan and is an important travel hub. From Lahore you can go to Rawalpindi in the north, Peshawar near the Afghan border, or south to Karachi or Quetta.Wagha/Atari is border between Pakistan ans India and just 20 miles east of Lahore, in fact wagha is now included in the Lahore City area. And main Indian city Amristar is about 30miles from the Wagha and that is both road and rail link to Dehli. The road is the famous Grand Trunk Road first buit by Emperor Sher Shah Suri from Dhaka to Delhi,Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar to Kabul.

Lahore Airport is modern airport links Pakistan to Midle east and Europe and North America on the west and Far east on its eastern side.

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