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Lahore (لاةور) is a major city in Pakistan that is the capital of the province of Punjab. A native of Lahore is called a Lahori
It is located near the river Ravi and the Indian border. Lahore has 6.5 million inhabitants and thus is the second largest city in Pakistan (Karachi being the largest). It is considered to be the 38th largest city of the world. Punjabi is the language of the province, and is the most widely spoken language in lahore. Punjabi spoken by the people of lahore is known as 'lahori punjabi' due to a mixture of punjabi and causual/slang urdu spoken in lahore.
History According to a legend, Lahore was founded by Loh, son of Rama, the hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana.
The city came under Muslim rule Muslim due to the raids of Mahmud of Ghazna. When Qutub-ud-din Aibak was crowned in 1206 here, he became the first Muslim Sultan of the subcontinent. From 1524 to 1752 Lahore was part of the Mughal Empire.
During Akbar's rule, Lahore was the capital of the empire from 1584 to 1598. During this time a massive fort, the Lahore Fort, was built on the fundaments of an older fort in the 1560s. This fort was later extended by Jahangir and Shah Jahan.
The last of the great Mughals, Aurangzeb, ruling from 1658 to 1707, built the city's most famous monuments, the Badshahi Masjid and the Alamgiri Gate to the Lahore Fort.
Sites of interest
Roshnai Gate area The Badshahi Masjid, one of the world's largest mosques, is located just outside the Northeast corner of the Walled City. Opposite is the historic Lahore Fort which houses the famous Sheesh Mahal. Between the two buildings is a garden known as Hazuri Bagh in which Maharaja Ranjit Singh built a baradari, a decorated marble pavilion. Every Sunday afternoon story-tellers, poets and singers gather in the garden to continue their oral tradition, often reciting Waris Shah's Heer, Bulleh Shah, Farid Ganjshakar or other Punjabi literature.
The Mausoleum of Muhammad Iqbal is also located in this garden, near the Eastern wall of the Badshahi Masjid. On the Northern side of the garden is the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh.
The Southern side of Hazuri Bagh is bounded by the wall of the Walled City, with the Roshnai Gate serving as an entrance. Roshnai Gate leads into the Shahi Mohalla quarter of the Walled City, also known as Hira Mandi. Although Shahi Mohalla is notorious for being the red-light district of Lahore, it also offers a large variety of traditional food, including the famous Phajje ke Paye.
The Minar-e-Pakistan (thought of by many as being architecturally corrupt in comparison to its surroundings) is located in Iqbal Park across the road from the Badshahi Masjid complex.
Masti Gate area Just behind the Lahore Fort is the Masti Gate entrance. This area is dominated wholesale shoesellers, or both traditional and Western style shoes. Further down the street is located one of the cities oldest mosques, the Mosque of Mariyam Zamani, named after the mother of Jahangir.
Bhati Gate area The Bhati Gate entrance is located on the Western wall of the Old City. The area inside the gate serves is well known throughout the city for its food. Just outside of Bhati Gate is Data Durbar, the mausoleum of the Sufi saint Ali Hajweri (also known as Data Sahib Ganjbaksh). Every Thursday evening musicians gather here to perform Qawwali music.
Delhi Gate area Delhi Gate is an entrance on the Eastern wall of the Walled City, named because it faces the road towards Delhi (now part of India).
Inside the gate on the left hand side is located the Shahi Hammam, or "Royal Baths". Further down the bazaar, one will find the beautiful Wazir Khan Mosque, named after a viceroy of the Punjab during the reign of Shah Jahan. Further inwards, the road leads towards the Sonehri Masjid.
Railway Station area Lahore Railway Station, Dai Anga Mosque, Landa Bazaar
Anarkali Tomb of Anarkali
Gawal Mandi Food Street
Ichhra Tomb of Shah Jamal, Pappu Sain
Mall Road Pak Tea House, Lawrence Gardens
Shalimar Gardens Tomb of Lal Hussain, Mela Chiraghan, Shalimar Gardens
Shahdara Tomb of Jahangir, Tomb of Noor Jehan
Shimla Pahari The mausoleum of Bibi Pak Daman
Major Universities University of the Punjab Old Campus, Mall Road Lahore | Punjab University, College of Art & Design, Lahore |
Economy and business
Infrastructure and development The recent road building programme has improved accessibility. A motorway was completed in 2000, linking Lahore to Islamabad, the capital. The Airport has been renovated and renamed as Allama Iqbal International Airport.
Shopping Lahore's most famous tech-bazaar is the Hafeez Center, located on the Gulberg Main Boulevard and Electronics Market at Hall Road.
Restaurants While Lahore has a great many traditional and modern restaurants, the turn of the century has seen the appearance of restaurant chains such as McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken in the new shopping centres all over the city. a major tourist attraction in Lahore is the famous Food Street in the old historic district of Gawaalmandi. Gawalmaandi had almost legendary status as the placeto go for the authentic Lahori cuisine. Food street has been a massive restoration project in which Gawaalmandi was cordoned off and a street cafe was established under the lights of the restored havelis of yesteryear.
Financial Institutions Banks Bank Alfalah, UBL(United Bank Limited), ABL(Allied band limited), Habib Bank Ltd, Habib Bank AG, Zurich, Bank of Punjab, Soneri Bank, Citibank, Cresecent Bank, Standard Chartered, Grindley's, National Bank of Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan
Insurance
Adamjee Insurance, State Life
Leasing
Saudi Pak Leasing Company
Stock Exchange The Lahore Stock Exchange is located on Mall Road near the Holiday Inn and Awan-e-Iqbal. The system is totally computerised and the majority of the companies listed are in the textile industry.
Industry and Manufacturing Carpet Industry
Lahore is famous as the hub of handmade carpet manufacturing in Pakistan. At present, hand-knotted carpets produced in and around Lahore are among Pakistan's leading export products and their manufacture is the second largest cottage and small industry. Craftsmen in Lahore have the capacity to produce any type of carpet using all the popular motif gulls, medallions, paisleys, traceries, geometric designs in various combinations. However, the new Institute of Carpet Designing and Weaving has been established in Bahawalpur to train teachers. The Lahore Design Centre at the Punjab Small Industries Corporation maintains a separate section of carpet designing to experiment with new designs.
Ninety-five percent of the carpets are produced for export and Turkoman, Persian and Caucasian designs are crafted since they meet the popular taste abroad. Lahore is famous for single-wefted designs in Turkoman and Caucasian style, and double-wefted Mughal types (commonly referred as Pak Persian).
To read more about the arts of Punjab (with a focus on Lahore in particular), visit this page (http://www.punjab.gov.pk/punjab/arts.htm) on the Government of Pakistan's web site.
A fine quality Mughal Kashan Carpet | A beautiful Mughal Bakhtiar Carpet | Mahal Carpet woven in Lahore | A beautiful Kashan Carpet woven in Lahore |
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