The Soul of Pakistan | The Tangled History of Lahore Fort

On the first weekend in Lahore, of course, you have to visit the famous Lahore Fort. On the way to Lahore Fort, you pass through a group of residential houses that look exactly like the scenes in the movie 'The Kite Runner'. As soon as you enter Lahore Fort through the tourist channel, you are immediately immersed in the vicissitudes of history within the ancient city walls. Lahore is the second largest city in Pakistan and the capital of Punjab Province. In the 7th century AD, Xuanzang mentioned Lahore in his works, which is the earliest record of this city in history. During the Mughal Dynasty, Lahore was often used as the capital or summer capital, and Lahore Fort was the palace of the Mughal emperor. Lahore Fort, with its dazzling Mughal architectural art charm, is known as 'the soul of Pakistan'. This is the architectural treasure of the Mughal Dynasty, but its predecessor was just a mud-built fortress, built in 1021 AD, the founder has long been obliterated in the long river of history, it was just a not-so-solid military fortress. In 1566, the Mughal Emperor Akbar, in order to resist foreign invasion, rebuilt Lahore Fort. This time he built a brick and stone structure fortress surrounded by high walls after demolishing the old city. As Lahore gradually became the commercial center of the South Asian subcontinent and the summer capital of the empire, four generations of Mughal emperors continuously added and expanded gardens, fountains, and palaces within the ancient fort, making the ancient fort a magnificent royal garden. After hundreds of years of wind and rain erosion, most of the palaces and Persian gardens have long disappeared, and the huge red-brown rock walls that remain silently tell the tangled history. In 1981, UNESCO listed Lahore Fort as a World Cultural Heritage site. From the channel stone steps to the second floor, the first building that comes into view is the most romantic Shish Mahal - 'Mirror Palace'. The Mirror Palace is actually the sleeping palace that the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan built for his queen, Aji Man. This queen is known to the world by another name, the famous Taj, and the Taj Mahal in Delhi is her mausoleum. When Shahjahan was still the crown prince, he fell in love at first sight with Aji Man, a descendant of the exiled Persian nobility in India. After he ascended the throne, he was even more indulgent with this beauty. At that time, Lahore was already the summer capital of the empire. One night, Taj looked up at the brilliant starry sky on the palace wall of the ancient fort and told the emperor that she wished to have a magical sleeping palace where she could see the stars even when lying in bed. So Shahjahan ordered the craftsmen from all over the country to build such a Mirror Palace. The four walls were inlaid with various precious gems, and the dome and four walls were covered with 900,000 pieces of red, blue, and brown glass mirrors. As long as a candle is lit in the center of the hall, the mirrors of various colors can reflect a vast galaxy. Today's Mirror Palace is already in ruins, and the beauty of the past can only be imagined through the broken glass on the palace wall. The garden of the ancient fort is completely left with only the base, the standing halls are empty, and some ancient fort relics have filled one of the palaces and become a simple museum. The newly trimmed lawn makes the ancient fort more like a historical park, where locals sit in twos and threes on the grass enjoying the leisurely afternoon sun on weekends. Another interesting building built by Shahjahan is the Moti Masjid near the gate - 'Pearl Mosque', which is a very small and delicate white marble building.