Lahore, Pakistan

This zoo is one of the most wonderful places I had the pleasure of visiiting when I went to pakistan, it is very big and has lots of different animals in there, It was the first time I saw an Elephant, HIppopotumas and a Rhinocerous all in the place.

great for the family at a very reasonable price as well

Hi friends,

I have just come across a pakistani website that facilitates web users, particularly expatriate Pakistanis to upload their digital photos on a website and then order online prints. These prints reach their home in Pakistan the next day. amazing!!!!!!

the website is www.photoprints.pk

do take look

best wishes for all

SQI

1 more image

I really enjoyed the character of Lahore old city. The back alley feeling roads watching the daily going abouts of people in this city which makes it so special. I also enjoyed going through the markets which sell all kinds of things - giving an insight into what the average Pakistani might use or eat in everyday life. I will definately return to Pakistan in the future as it holds a special place in my heart!

I really feel nostalgic for having some KULCHA bread or some CHAT at the Chat restaurants- a kind of spicy savoury snack!

The unique mughal architect is worth seen in Lahore fort. Beautifully decorated walls and top of the "Shish Mahal" (the glass palace) in Lahore fort is worth to see. The Wazir Khan Maosque in the walled city is another attrachtion.

The massive walls of Lahore Fort, built by Akbar in the 1560s, tower over the old city of Lahore, and the huge rectangle they define, 380 by 330 meters, is filled with buildings from a variety of periods. There are different sections of the fort which could take several hours to visit...
Hazuri Bagh (garden) lies in the square between Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort. Hazuri Bagh Baradari, the marble pavilion in the center of the garden, is one of the few surviving Sikh monuments. It was built by Rangit Singh in 1818. The Tomb of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the great poet-philosopher, who lived from 1873 to 1938 and conceived the idea of Pakistan as a separate Muslim state, is on the left as you face the gate of Badshahi Mosque. Built in 1951, this small tomb is constructed of red sandstone. The window grills, doorframes and entire interior are of carved white marble. The translucent marble headstone, a gift from Afghanistan, is inscribed with two of poet's couplets condemning racial discrimination.

Situated on the east bank of the River Ravi, the wonderful city of Lahore adds to the charisma of Pakistan. Legend traces its origin to Loh, the son of Rama Chandra, the hero of the Ramayana, but history records that it began as a dependency of the 8th century AD Hindu ruler, Lalitiditya. In the early 11th century it came under Muslim rule and evolved as a center of Islamic culture and learning as well as trade and commerce. In the 13th century it was depopulated and razed to the ground by the Tartar-Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan. Lahore was a cultural and intellectual center during the Moghul and British eras. Such atmosphere still pervades, but it is the diversity and contrast of the different sections of Lahore, which makes it the most eventfully interesting part of Pakistan.
Lahore is the second largest city of Pakistan and the provincial capital of Punjab. Apart from being the cultural and academic centre of the country, Lahore is the Mughal "show-window" of Pakistan. In the Mughal days a 9-meter high brick wall surrounded the Old City. It had a rampart running around it which almost connected with the River Ravi to serve as protection for the city. A circular road around the rampart gave access to the city through thirteen gates. Some of the imposing structures of these gates are still preserved. In the bazaars of the Old City one can still find tiny shops where craftsmen can be seen busy turning out master-pieces in copper, brass, silver and textiles in traditional fashion. Lahore is a city full of life and color. It has something for everyone. Large number of beautiful gardens, historically exotic forts, mosques and shrines, mughal architectures and museums, shopping centres, fairs and festivals all add-up to make Lahore as Pakistan's most surprisingly colorful package!

1 more image

On independence Pakistan inherited seven museums, out of which Museums at Lahore and Peshawar were run by the Provincial Governments while site museum of at Harappa, Moenjodaro, Taxila and the Armoury Museum in Lahore Fort were looked after by Central Government through its Department of Archaeology.
Immediately after independence plans were taken in hand to establish National Museum of Pakistan. It was on 17th April 1950 that the National Museum of Pakistan was inaugurated in Freer Hall building, replacing the defunct Victoria Museum.
In order to advise the National Museum of Pakistan to enrich its collection through new acquisition, an Advisory Council for the purchase of antiquities and works of Arts was also formed by the government in 1950.
The development of museums in the country has been spectacular and the last decades have seen quite a few museums being established and many others reorganized on modern lines. Recently a museum exclusively devoted to Allama Iqbal at Javed Manzil, Lahore and another House Museum in the Quaid-I-Azam House (Flag Staff House) Karachi have been established. The detail of the existing museums under the charge of the Department of Archaeology & Museums as well as some of the private museums is given below:

Lahore is dusty, dirty and chaotic. Nevertheless, this huge city offers so many first-class attractions that it keeps you busy for at least a couple of days.
Great architecture from the Moghul- and Raj-era (mosques, the Fort, the Mall) ; Shalimar Gardens; the huge tomb of Jehangir and, of course, Old Lahore with its maze of narrow alleys, bazaars, old buildings and open sewers.
However, there's a different side to Lahore, just a couple of kilometers from the hustle and bustle of the Old City, there are tidy and green suburbs and chic cafes.