Royal Art and Architecture


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Little_star said:
Thanks for all the pictrues, Humera, the Sheesh Mahal is one of my favourite parts of Lahore Fort. Have you ever been when they've had candles lit? It's spectacular.

no I haven't. I know places like Shalimar get all decked out for state occasions like indepence day this year, they have fireworks and everything. It must look breath-taking.
When I was little I did see Badshahi mosque though...it is so majestic!
My mom's family lives in Lahore and everytime we visited them we always took in the sights. You have been there but for those who haven't Its difficult to describe how steeped in history and myth that ancient city is. Often we'd just be driving down a road and would spot an old Mughal building, we'd stop and get out of the car to take a better look. And there would always be a guide or some local person to tell us about its history.
Simply amazing.
 
Badshahi Masjid

The Badshahi Masjid (بادشاەى مسجد), literally the 'King's Mosque', was built in 1673 by Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan. It is one of the city's best known landmarks, and a major tourist attraction epitomising the beauty and grandeur of the Mughal era.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badshahi_Mosque

T[SIZE=-1]he emperor or the Badshahi Mosque is across the courtyard from Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort. The Mosque which is made up entirely of sand-stone was built by Emperor Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughals, in a record time of the two and-a-half years. Its construction was completed by 1674 A.D. It has a beautiful gate-way which measures 21.33 meters in length and a courtyard that measures 161.5 x 160.6 meters and is said to be the largest mosque courtyard in the world for outdoor prayers.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]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 meters, soaring up to 54 meters. In the chambers above the gate of the mosque, are housed relics attributed to the Holy Prophet of Islam peace be upon him, His Daughter and His Son-in-Law and are said to have been brought to the sub-continent by Amir Taimur. Within the Mosque almost all the colors have been used for painting the floral designs but the overall effect remains one of sobriety, piousness and simplicity.[/SIZE]

http://www.vista-tourism.com/geography/punjab.htm

Pictures from APL, wikipedia & oriental architecture:
 
Badshahi Masjid ("King's Mosque") - Details

Pictures from APL and oriental architecture

 
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Badshahi Masjid ("King's Mosque") - Interior

the interior is my favourite part. Its absolutely beautiful, pictures dont do it justice.

From APL and oriental architecture

 
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Badshahi Masjid ("King's Mosque") - At night

the mosque, like other mosques and buildings in Pakistan, is lavishly decorated with lights during Ramadan and the festivals of Eid.

Pictures from APL and webshots:


Lahore fort across the mosque
 
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aawww... Humera... you made my day!

i love seeing all these gorgeous palaces from the east.
we often "go west" to see all the glamour & grandeur of palaces, but as you can see... the splendour belong to the east too...
 
~*~Humera~*~ said:
no I haven't. I know places like Shalimar get all decked out for state occasions like indepence day this year, they have fireworks and everything. It must look breath-taking
Next time you visit, be sure to take a lighter and some candles with you, the palce looks so beautiful. We did all the old Mughal sights back in 1996 and we had our English neighbours with us, so at all of these places, the caretakers went all out to ensure they saw the places at their best. So one guy actually went to find some candles for us so we could view it in all its glory. You could imagine how breathtaking it must have been with the precious stones in the walls!

I love the Badshahi Mosque as well, next time I go, I'm definitely going to try and see some of those places again, I really want to see Jehanghir's tomb as well.
 
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purple_platinum said:
aawww... Humera... you made my day!

i love seeing all these gorgeous palaces from the east.
we often "go west" to see all the glamour & grandeur of palaces, but as you can see... the splendour belong to the east too...

Im glad you enjoyed it!
Lets not forget the inspirtion the west has always drawn from the east.
not to mention the fact that the people who built these magnificent monuments had to be a lot more creative than their western counterparts, they couldn't rely on depictions of the human body, statues etc. (I am speaking of Islamic art and and architectrue here) Which is why we see such splending murals, geometric and floral designs inlaid with precious stones etc.
 
Little_star said:
I love the Badshahi Mosque as well, next time I go, I'm definitely going to try and see some of those places again, I really want to see Jehanghir's tomb as well.

I saw Emperor Jehangir and his wife Empress Noor Jehan's tomb years ago.
The visit to the Empress' tomb was especially memorable. The cenotaph itself is beautifully decorated, but the actual grave is several feet below it underground. A guide took us down a flight of stairs, it was really dark so he brought a candle with him. And then we saw the actual grave of Noor Jehan, it was simply covered with soil. And if I remember correctly, there was another grave right next to hers (not her husband's...I dont remember who it was). And right around us we could see secret tunnels dating back to Mughal times. But their entrances had been closed up.
Jehangir's grave is probably laid out the same way because it is in keeping with Islamic tradition to be buried in a simple unmarked grave. If you find a guide be sure to ask him about it and take you underground. It is a very humbling experience to see the modest resting place of a once great empress.
 
"The British did their part in damaging historic Mughal buildings as well (destroying a part of the Lahore Fort) not to mention the stories of them carrying off the jewels adorning some of these buildings."

I know,it's absolutely horrible, you can see the gaps in the walls where they gouged out precisous stones, looking at the gaps some of them must have been incredibly big.

Thanks for the info on Noor Jehan's and Jehanghir's tombs, I always find it incredibly humbling when rulers and Kings have such modest graves, I believe King Fahd was also buried in a similar manner. I cannot wait to see both!
 
oh yes, not just gouging out precious stones from the walls but they stripped be-jewelled thrones. But maybe what the Brits did to the buildings wasnt as bad as what they did to the royals, killing the last emperor's sons and grandson and bringing their heads before him! As beautiful as those buildings are, thinking about how the splendid dynasty of their builders ended always makes me sad.

here are some picture of Jehangir's tomb, built by his wife Noor Jehan

MAUSOLEUM OF EMPEROR JEHANGIR

The tomb of the fourth great Mughal Emperor, Jehangir, lies 5 km 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 patterns balancing each side.
http://www.tourism.gov.pk/d_lahoretombs.html


Pictures from APL, Archnet and Alamy
 
MAUSOLEUM OF EMPEROR JEHANGIR - Interior

The marble tomb is approached from four corridors leading from the garden. Three of these corridors are closed by intricate marble screens. The marble grave is elaborately inlaid with floral designs and the 99 Attributes of Allah are inscribed on its two sides. On the top is a verse from the Holy Quran. The tomb was built by Queen Noor Jehan and the Emperor’s son Shah-Jehan, around 1637 A.D.
http://www.tourism.gov.pk/d_lahoretombs.html


Pictures from APL, Archnet & Oriental architecture
 
MAUSOLEUM OF EMPEROR JEHANGIR


a few more pictures from APL & webshots
 
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NOOR JEHAN'S TOMB

The Empress Noor Jehan, "Light of the world" was the only Empress whose name appeared on the coins of the Mughal empire. She was buried in 1645 A.D. at Shahdara (Lahore) outside Jehangir’s mausoleum across the railway line.

Her tomb once had a marble cenotaph which she had built herself during her life time. After the decline of Mughal rule, the tomb suffered extensive damages along with her husband’s tomb at the hands of Sikh marauders when they gained power during the early part of nineteenth century. Both were stripped of most of its original beauty and splendour. All treasures and tiles, it is said, were carted off to decorate the Golden Temple at Amritsar India.

http://www.tourism.gov.pk/d_lahoretombs.html

Pictures from Archnet and APL
 
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