Badshahi Masjid (Mosque), Lahore

This is within the same grounds as the Lahore Fort, so make sure you plan PLENTY of time to do both of these things. Seeing the inside of the Masjid won't take so long really, but walking around and taking pictures of the outside could prove to be a little while if you like that sort of thing. You pay only 10 rupees if you drive your own car into the grounds and that is for both the Masjid and the Fort.

In pic you can see the front of the Masjid. As you will enter the masjid this is what you will see. Three BIG domes of marble around 500-600 yrs old !

In this picture u can see Usama (xest) and Matthew (zinneke) on Friday in Badshahi masjid's huge courtyard where approximately 100,000 people can pray together and its usually full on Eid's.

This was a memorable day ! Matthew, zinneke on VT, was really excited to visit this beautiful masjid here in Lahore. Before this day, he had only seen the pics of it on internet and in guide books and once he saw it from his own eyes, he kept looking at it and trying to get everything into his eyes. He loved being here. Interesting we planned it such that we visit this masjid on Friday which is the best day to visit a masjid because its the most holy day in islam and most of the people come to pray in the afternoon. so we went there together with another VTer Usama, xest on VT, and said the prayer. The whole experience was amazing !

The Badshai Masjid is opposite the Lahore fort. It was greatly expanded by Aurangzeb, and was intended to rival the Red Fort in Delhi. It is one of the largest mosques in Pakistan, and at one point may have been the largest in the world.

The mosque has the classical structure of a mosque with a large courtyard, and a prayer hall at the end facing Mecca. During the summer, the bricks in the courtyard can get extremely hot, but luckily there are mats soaked in water for people to walk on. Within the mosque there are certain rooms that contain ancient Islamic relics, such as the hairs of the Prophet Muhammad.

Non-Muslims are allowed into the fort, but proper dress must be worn. Anything deemed improper will disallow you from entering, even shorts would be considered inappropriate.

The mosque fell into disrepair during the British Raj, but the Pakistani government seems to be working to keep it in good shape. For such an old building, it's in impressive shape, and has classical Mughal architecture and design.

Admission is free, as it is a mosque where prayers are held. But if you don't want your shoes to get stolen (you cant wear them inside), you'll have to pay a porter at the door.

Ironically, it usually seems to have more tourists than worshippers, although it is packed during the large Islamic festivals such as Eid.

With the simple grace of its lines, its pleasing propotins and its airy spaciousness, the mosque, built by emperor Auragzeb in 1674(nearly thirty years after the great Mughal Mosques at Dehli and Agra), represents the very best of Mughal architecture. It is huge, walled square with the minarets at each corner and a monumental gate at the top of a broad flight of steps. the courtyard is paved with red sandstone -which gets very hot under bare feet in the summer. A square marble fontain stands in the the centre of the courtyard while an arcade of white arches lines its perimeter on the sides. The fourth side, opposite the gate is the prayer chamber, which is topped by three elegent marble domes. The celings inside the prayer chamber are decorated with carved plaster-work and floral fescos in subdued colours.
With special premission you can climb to the top of tthe one of the minarets for an excellent bird's eye view of the mosque, the fort opposite & the old city of Lahore. The minarets have 204 steps and exactly one-third as tall as the courtyard is wide.
In the rooms above the entrance gate are kept some hair of the Prophet Muhammad(p.b.u.h) and other reclics of his daughter Fatima and son-in-law Ali. In a room beside the gate is an exhibition of 30 embroidered Korans.

The Royal or the Badshahi Mosque is across the courtyard from Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort. The Mosque, which is made up entirely of red sand-stone was built by Emperor Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughals, in a record time of two and-a-half years. Its construction was completed by 1674 A.D.

everyone has to see this amazing piece of architecture. its superb.the design , the colourful layout, the sheer beauty of this mosque is mindblowing.oh yeh i kinda forgot its massive.if u can try to pray juma there then u'll know what im on about

It is the historical mosque and has an age of more than 4 hundred years.A must see place...
It was made by a Mughal ruler.Every tourist having his/her shoes taken off, can visit and enjoy the most beautiful mosque of Pakistan.Their is also a small historical museum their and everyone should see it.