Category: Pakistan

The world’s largest mural Picture Wall is situated inside the Lahore Fort

As you enter the imperial Lahore Fort through the British era built Postern Gate, you will be astounded by the gigantic wall in front of you which is 1450 feet long and 50 feet high. So now, you can imagine the grandeur and majesty of this wall. This is the world’s largest mural Picture Wall inside the Lahore Fort, and it is situated right here in Lahore, Pakistan. This wall was one of the reasons that the Lahore Fort was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981.

The beauty of the wall cannot be described in words, and experiencing it is important to believe in its exquisiteness. The most appealing characteristic of the wall is that it deeply reflects the history and activities of the Mughals. It narrates their sports, events, cuisines, animals etc back in the time through the pictures on it.

Read more from source: World’s largest picture wall – Daily Times

The country s second city is a melting pot of history and culture with plenty of options for discerning foodies

Lahore is undoubtedly old. The earliest reliable mention of the city is in the historical texts and writings of Chinese traveller Xuanzang, who passed through the city in AD630.

Legend has it that the city’s original name was Loh, after the son of Ram, hero of the Hindu epic, Ramayana. Others think the city got its name from the word lohawar, meaning a fort as strong as iron. Muslim rule began in the city in 1206 when Qutub ud Din Aibak was crowned the first Muslim sultan of the subcontinent in Lahore. Nevertheless, it was later during the Mughal era that the city saw its greatest flowering and cultural growth. Scattered across town are numerous buildings and remnants from the reigns of all of the great Mughals.

However, during the 18th century Mughal rule and influence over the city started to decline when the city constantly at the risk of invasion.

Read more from source: Pakistan: Legends of Lahore

The men huddled on what remained of the marble courtyard, the parts that hadn’t been ripped away by a bulldozer’s claw. A cloud of smoke rose above them as they passed around hashish joints — for the spiritual high, they said. They shook their heads to the frenzied banging of the drummers. Others leaped up, twirling, contorting and chanting in praise of the Sufi saint at whose shrine they worshiped.

In short, on a recent Thursday night, hundreds of worshippers at the Mauj Darya shrine repeated a tradition that the shrine’s keepers say has occurred in some form for about 450 years.

But activists fear this tradition may end with the shrine itself.

They say it is threatened by a 16-mile train line the government is racing to build through Lahore. The train route passes 11 heritage spots — from Mauj Darya, to a British colonial church, to the Shalimar Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is expected to ferry about half a million people every day within five years, said the head of the Lahore Transport Authority, Khawaja Ahmad Hassan.

Source: A New Rail Line In Lahore May Damage Heritage Sites, Activists In Pakistan Warn

Pakistan – Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore

LAHORE: A three-day International Workshop on the Picture Wall of the Lahore Fort concluded at the Lahore Fort on Wednesday. The purpose of the workshop was to assess and discuss the preservation work carried out on the Picture Wall.

A prototype preservation was carried over a 45-feet high and 30-feet wide panel on the western segment of the Picture Wall by Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) and the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) involving the experts from Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France and Sri Lanka. This preservation process was started in 2016 and completed in December 2017.

AKCSP CEO Salman Beg, WCLA Director General Kamran Lashari, Director Historic Cities Programme AKTC Cameron Rashti, Director Partnerships and Development AKTC Jurjen Vandertas, Senior Conservation Officer AKTC Christophe Bouleau , Assistant Professor LUMS Dr Nadhra Shahbaz and other speakers have participated in the three days workshop.

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LAHORE: Walled City Lahore Authority (WCLA) has planned to hold children’s literature festival inside Lahore Fort, a protected monument included in UNESCO’s world heritage list, where holding any kind of functions, festivals and public activities are banned, according to a report by a private media outlet.

Some 10 years back, Environmental Tribunal of Lahore had banned holding of any kind of functions, festivals and public activities inside Lahore Fort after which all such functions and activities were held at Hazori Bagh, which is between Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque.

The two-day festival will take place inside Lahore Fort just opposite Dewan-e-Aam on January 13 and 14 from 9am till 4pm and WCLA is expecting attendance of thousands of students, their friends and families in it, besides routine visitors of the fort, which are over 15,000 daily.

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LAHORE – The Lahore High Court on Wednesday directed the Lahore Walled City Authority to submit a detailed report on the conservation project.

The court issued these orders on a petition challenging alleged establishment of a restaurant at the Lahore Fort, the world heritage site.

Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh passed the order observing that if the conversation work was being carried out at the world heritage site then the court should be apprised that whether the approval for this conservation was taken or not and which experts were consulted.  Advocate Khurram Chughtai, who represented the Lahore Walled City Authority, said that no construction or alteration work was being carried out at the site; it was conservation which was being done in light of the authority’s own laws.

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