Sounds and Photos from Lahore's Old City (posted by Devin and Amber)
During our stay in Lahore, we have resided in an old Cathedral near the High Court. No, don't worry, we're not squatting or living with the pigeons in the rafters, there's a guest house run by the Anglican Church here. The rooms are nothing fancy, but they have A/C which is important when it is regularly over 100 and sometimes up to 120! Here's our guest house (our room is on the second floor):
Pascal manages the hotel and offered to take us on a tour of the old city. We gladly accepted - we've both been so busy here that we haven't seen as much of the city as we would have liked to. With Pascal's assistance, that changed!
We started out by going to the beautiful 17th Century Wazir Khan Masjid, located in the heart of the old city. Although smaller than it's better-known cousin (see below), I found Wazir Khan to be simply breathtaking:
"The colors on the spire are vivid
Detail of one small section of tile work
And I could almost smell these flowers within the prayer hall:
We left the masjid and moved through the market of the old city, through crowded alleyways, past merchants selling their wares while scooters wiz by(1 MB audio clip here), and finally arrived at Badshahi Masjid, the largest mosque in South Asia, capable of holding over 60,000 worshipers. It was also built in the 17th Century, about 50 years after Wazir Khan Masjid. We arrived 20 minutes before the maghrib prayer, as the sun was setting in the west:
The courtyard of the mosque is enormous
Our friend and guide, Pascal, with Amber
And, nothing like a good game of cricket at the mosque:
Our journey with Pascal was not yet over. He wanted to take us to an island with a shrine, away from the hustle of Lahore's 6 million people. Our destination - Baradari Island:
We traveled via row boat across the swift current (2MB audio clip of the rhythmic sound of the oars in the water). Night had fallen:
You're on the boat with us!
We walked through the crickets (.6 MB .mp3) and climbed the dark stairs to the top of the shrine, with a view of the busy motorway bridge only a short distance away:
Our journey was finished. But before we left the quiet sanctuary, I managed to get one picture of the three of us. It's a 10 second exposure, so excuse the blurriness:
Pascal manages the hotel and offered to take us on a tour of the old city. We gladly accepted - we've both been so busy here that we haven't seen as much of the city as we would have liked to. With Pascal's assistance, that changed!
We started out by going to the beautiful 17th Century Wazir Khan Masjid, located in the heart of the old city. Although smaller than it's better-known cousin (see below), I found Wazir Khan to be simply breathtaking:
"The colors on the spire are vivid
Detail of one small section of tile work
And I could almost smell these flowers within the prayer hall:
We left the masjid and moved through the market of the old city, through crowded alleyways, past merchants selling their wares while scooters wiz by(1 MB audio clip here), and finally arrived at Badshahi Masjid, the largest mosque in South Asia, capable of holding over 60,000 worshipers. It was also built in the 17th Century, about 50 years after Wazir Khan Masjid. We arrived 20 minutes before the maghrib prayer, as the sun was setting in the west:
The courtyard of the mosque is enormous
Our friend and guide, Pascal, with Amber
And, nothing like a good game of cricket at the mosque:
Our journey with Pascal was not yet over. He wanted to take us to an island with a shrine, away from the hustle of Lahore's 6 million people. Our destination - Baradari Island:
We traveled via row boat across the swift current (2MB audio clip of the rhythmic sound of the oars in the water). Night had fallen:
You're on the boat with us!
We walked through the crickets (.6 MB .mp3) and climbed the dark stairs to the top of the shrine, with a view of the busy motorway bridge only a short distance away:
Our journey was finished. But before we left the quiet sanctuary, I managed to get one picture of the three of us. It's a 10 second exposure, so excuse the blurriness: