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Allama Iqbal's Tomb
Outside the Badshahi Mosque, near its steps, lies the Tomb of
Allama Iqbal, the poet-philosopher of the East. The mausoleum
is a blend of Afghan and Moorish styles of architecture and is
constructed entirely of red sandstone which was quarried and brought
from Rajasthan.
Badshahi
Masjid
The Imperial or the Badshahi Mosque is across the courtyard from
Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort. The Mosque, which is made up
entirely of red sandstone 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 AD. It has a beautiful
gate-way which measures 21.33 metres in length and a courtyard
that measures 161.5 x 160.6 metres and is said to be the largest
mosque courtyard in the world for outdoor prayers. The marble
domes cover seven prayer chambers. Four lofty minarets stand at
the four corners of the mosque, each with an outer circumference
of 20 metres, soaring up to 54 meters.
Shrine
of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh Ali Hajvery
The shrine of this renowned saint of Lahore (d. 1071 C.E.), is
close to the junction of the Lower Mall and the Circular Road.
Data Sahib was a great Sufi saint whose well-known work, "Kashf-ul-Mahjub"
has been translated from original Persian into several European
languages and is considered a classic. His grave is surrounded
by a beautiful mosque.
Jehangir's
Tomb
The tomb of the fourth great Mughal Emperor, Jehangir, lies three
miles north-west of Lahore across the River Ravi. It has a majestic
structure made of red sand-stone and marble. The outer entrance
to the tomb opens out into a court-yard which was used as a caravan
Serai during Mughal times. An entrance to the right leads into a
Mughal garden with exact geometrical pattern balancing each side.
The marble tomb is approached from four corridors leading from the
garden.
Noor
Jehan's Tomb
The Empress Nur Jehan, "Light of the World", was the only
empress whose name appeared on the coins of the Mughal empire. She
was buried in 1845 AD at Shahdara (Lahore) outside Jehangir's mausoleum
across the railway line.
Qutub-ud-Din
Aibak
He was appointed Governor of India in 1191 AD by Muhammad
Ghauri. He established the Slave Dynasty on the death of Muhammad
Ghauri in 1206 when he assumed independence of his reign and was
followed by nine other slave kings. He was a patron of the building
art and is known to have erected some monumental stone buildings
in Delhi and elsewhere. A very avid player of polo, he died in Lahore
in 1210 AD while playing the game. His tomb can be visited in Anarkali
Bazaar.
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