Lahore, Badshahi Mosque

Tour date: October 2011
Badshahi Mosque and it's surrounding attraction

The Badshahi Mosque or the 'King's Mosque', commissioned by the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671 and completed in 1673, is the second largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and the fifth largest mosque in the world. Epitomising the beauty, passion and grandeur of the Mughal era, it is Lahore's most famous landmark and a major tourist attraction.

Capable of accommodating 5,000 worshippers in its main prayer hall and a further 95,000 in its courtyard and porticoes, it remained the largest mosque in the world from 1673 to 1986 (a period of 313 years), when overtaken in size by the completion of the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad. Today, it remains the second largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and the fifth largest mosque in the world after the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) of Mecca, the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's Mosque) in Medina, the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca and the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad.

The interior finishes of mimbar hall having similar decorations with Taj Mahal. I took many shoots at the Main Prayer Hall which is divided into seven sections by means of multi-foil arches supported on heavy piers, three of which bear the double domes finished externally in white marble. The remaining four sections are roofed with flat domes. The interior of Main Prayer Hall is richly embellished with stucco tracery (Manbatkari), fresco work and inlaid marble.

"If I could dream to have a grandeur hall just like the way where I was standing above, in my own home, I would be smiling throughout the sleep. Even when I awake I could have for the record those dream in my camera :)". That was on my silly thought for sometimes now. 

I took assistance from the PC hotel driver (sat with me in above photo) to capture a photo of me with Minar-e-Pakistan from the Badshahi Mosque. The outstanding minar was constructed in 1960, completed in 1968 with a roof height of 62 metres @ 203ft. A minaret, located in Iqbal Park Lahore was built in commemoration of the Lahore Resolution. The minaret reflects a blend of Mughal and modern architecture, and is constructed on the site where on March 23, 1940, seven years before the formation of Pakistan, the Muslim League passed the Pakistan Resolution, demanding the creation of Pakistan. Interestingly, the site is also where Nehru and the Indian National Congress declared Indian independence from Britain in 1929.

Another beautiful building seated within the area is the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is the mausoleum of the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It is located near the Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan. Construction was started by his son, Kharak Singh on the spot where he was cremated, and was completed by his youngest son, Duleep Singh in 1848. As I rushed back to the hotel to check out and had my lunch, I decided to skip the tour in detail inside the mausoleum. Suffice with below photo evidencing my visit.

The architecture and design of the Badshahi Mosque closely resembles that of the smaller Jama Mosque in Delhi, India, which was built in 1648 by Aurangzeb's father and predecessor, Emperor Shah Jahan. Its design was inspired by Islamic, Persian, Central Asian and Indian influences. Like the character of its founder, the Mosque is bold, vast and majestic in its expression. I wishes to share more photos of the mosque as it was too beautiful to keep it intact inside my Mcbook. Hope you shall enjoy looking at it as much as I enjoyed taking each one of them.

It's not only a resemblance of Jama Masjid of Delhi, but a Taj Mahal. What I can concluded is that everything in here is just another piece of art and great architecture vision of Emperor Shah Jahan.