THE WAZIR KHAN MOSQUE

I had been to Lahore a few times whenever I visit Pakistan. Even though when I travel, I told friends that I try to avoid anything to do with architecture or construction or building as I involve in this matter in my daily working life more than 8 hours daily. So my ideal vacation is supposedly to be away from these.

But naturally I am not able to. There is some kind of magnet that makes me visit buildings, old and new  and taking photos of them. I guess naturally I am not able to be separated from Architecture, though I tried to.

I contacted my Lahorian friend, Ali Bhatti - whom I knew through Flickr website. I have met Ali in person in 2013 before.  He is the most wonderful host I have ever met. He tried his level best to make sure that I am comfortable in my visit. Very hospitable.

This 2nd visit was in Summer 2016.

Ali Bhatti in 2013

I visited Pakistan again in 2016 and contacted Ali again. I told him that I would like to visit Wazir Khan Mosque since I saw some of this mosque in Ali's photo collection online.

Ali came over to my hotel on his motorbike as we agreed. Ali knows how scared I am to take a bike, even Ali is a very good rider. Ali came in the morning.

The Old City of Lahore in the morning                                                                                                      

I suggested to Ali that we can just walk in the Old City since the road is small, lots of children around and I did not feel very safe. He agreed . So he just drag his motorbike along.

Lahore Old City in the morning.

The Old City of Lahore was established as old as 1000CE. The city still functions as it was before. A lot of the buildings are not very well maintained. There are many sections of  trading in the Old City. Food, vegetable, metal, etc. You can see the traces of Moghul Architcture in the facade of some of the buildings.

The Old City Of Lahore - The facade shows traces of Moghul Architecture.

Morning in the Old City. Newly opened shops waiting for  customers.

The ambience of Old City in Lahore in the morning. Quiet.

After awhile Ali and I walking toward Wazir Khan's Mosque in the Old City, Ali asked me if I would like to have the best yogurt drink in Pakistan. I said yes, and Ali bought 2 glasses of fresh yogurt for us. Wow..I never tasted yogurt as creamy, rich and thick as this one. The shop name is Jedda Pahlwan. According to Ali, in Ramadan, people start queuing up in front of the store before they even open. I can see why.

Jedda Pahlawn- The best Yogurt drink in Pakistan situated in the Old City of Lahore. Already busy even in early morning.

When we reached the main road, Ali asked me to sit at the back of his motorbike and took me to Wazir Khan. It took about less than 10 minutes to Wazir Khan Mosque.

Th external facade of the Wazir Khan Mosque .

I was very excited even when I saw the external facade of the mosque. Colorful and full of holy inscription written  over it. I know that there will be more  inside. Ali might not feel as excited as me as he has visited many times here.

The Wazir Khan brief introduction on wall.

The Entrance area dome. Beautifully decorated.

I was amazed looking at the entrance where there are many hand painted tiles around , a beautiful old pendant light. The high ceiling of the dome made us feel so small and unworldly.

 From the entrance to the courtyard.

The Summer heat in Pakistan was unbearable to walk bare feet at the courtyard

Approaching the huge courtyard we went to the main mosque to hide from the Pakistan Summer heat. We have to walk barefeet the the courtyard as the open courtyard was part of the praying area. The temperature was like 40C ++ that day.

From here I could see the basic color scheme of the msoque - pink, and yellowish.

With thick walls many openings at the main mosque area, and mechanical ventilation of fan, it really cool the temperature down. There are some people laying around this area for resting.

The heat of Summer in Lahore forced some people to take a rest in the  mosque.

As I entered the main mosque , I was really amazed of how intricate the  original paintings were in the wall. It also reminds me of the Pakistani arts on lorries and the paper mache art of Kashmir. It was beautifully applied on the walls.

A breathtaking beautiful art on the wall.

The Painting Art on Lorry in Pakistan

 Ali candid my photo while I was reading  Yasin .

Beautifully painted dome and arches.

We rest for awhile before leaving the Wazir Khan Mosque. This was really a gem in the Old city of Lahore. While I was there, I never saw any local or  foreign tourist in this place. Not many people know about this beautiful mosque. It was not even listed in Lonely Planet's Pakistan Guide. I am happy that it still remain a secret gem in Lahore. If too many people visit this mosque, there might be  a lot of vandalism .

My kindest friend- Ali Bhatti (2016)

Sweaty me in Wazir Khan Mosque.

Eat like the Locals

Food is a very important element in life. Food changes as the geography changes as well as culture and the availability of the sources. In  Pakistan the main staple  is the  wheat and followed by the rice.

Given a very huge country with a population of 139 million, with different cultures in different region, the Pakistani food is quite a variety according to the regions. Most pakistani foods are around - poultry, lamb and meat. Seafood is more popular in the south like Karachi as the location is near the Arabian Sea. This time I am showcasing  the food that I had tried in Pakistan, either from street, small restaurant or big restaurant.

                                The map indication important cities of Pakistan

CHICKEN

the most famous and cheaper version of food. There are so many dishes is made of chicken but one of the most popular traditional chicken dish in Pakistan is from Quetta, Balochistan. Sajji is a famous smoked chicken that originated in Quetta. The whole chicken usually being smoked near the fire but not touching the fire. They smoke it for hours until the whole chicken is fully cooked but maintaining its juices inside.

                                Akbar restaurant in Quetta

                                Sajji Chicken in Quetta

                           A group of polite 'crosslegged'  roast chicken in 

Peshawar Old City

KEBAB

It is made of minced beef, lamb or chicken but the most famous ones are lamb and beef. It looks more like a sausage but Pakistani kebab is mixed with spices and chillis. Mostly very spicy. They are eaten with either roti, chappati or rice. Kebab usually grilled on top of the fire and served hot.

                                          Kebab being grilled on fire

                                          ready to eat kebab.

                                         Chicken grilled on fire. Chicken boti

ROTI/CHAPPATI /NAAN

The main staple of  Pakistani people is wheat. From wheat we can get many types of carbo  sources  like roti, Naan,and chappati. Most of the roti is accompanied with chicken or meat dishes,or dall.

                                Roghni naan in Peshawar

                                Variety of shapes and sizes of Naan in Peshawar

                                The breadmakers in Peshawar. In Summer they have to withstand 

                                The heat of the city as well as the heat of their tandoor (the earth

                                pot)

                                 

                                The fussion Naan, In Saddar Bazaar - Peshawar. Naan with a little

                                 twist of topping of vegetable. Can be camouflage as Pakistani Pizza.

                               The fussion Naan.

                                The breadmakers in Peshawar.

                                                 Naan with Chicken Karahi

                                Chappati with chicken karachi and chicken botti.

                                Biryani and naan with fresh salad and chciken karahi.

RICE

Rice is a secondary staple for akitani people. Rice is cooked and served differently in dfferent parts of Pakistan. The 2 famous rice dish that I had before in Pakistan is either Biryani or Kabuli Pulao. Chicken biryani has a different taste from Kracahi to Lahore. Karachi, whichis in the south of Pakistan has a more spicy Biryani wehere in Lahore the biryani is less spicy than Karachi. Kabuli pulao can be found every in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( KPK) area. They are not spicy at all and cooked with spices and  beef stock from the beef bones. These rices dishes usually accompanied with salad, beef or chicken dishes or kebab.

                               Kabuli Pulao 

                               kabuli pulao - close up

                                Kabuli Pulao accompanied with fresh kebabmeat ( not minced)

                                Biryani rice accompanied with shami kebab  ( Lamb patties)

                                The biryani set with chicken kebab, raita ( Yogurt), fresh salad

                                in Tandoori Restaurant in Islamabad.

                                The biryani set with Chciken Jafrelzi, and beef kebab.

                                Kabuli Pulao with Raita, fresh salad and chicken karahi

TEA

One of the most important drinks in the Pakistani society. tea with milk or doodh pathi is a very delicious drink in Pakistan. It is made by boiling the tea leafs in the boiling milk and sugar are added while  they are still on fire. Doodh pathi is my favourite drinks in Pakistan. They are served in boiling hot.

Another  favorite tea in the nOrthern part of Pakistan is the green tea. Green tea is served hots, very sweet and cardamon is added to leave a spicy taste to the tea. I usually get free green tea when I did my shopping in Peshwar Old City, by the hsop owners. Sometimes even I did not buy anything from them, I still get invited to join them for tea.

                                Doodh Pathi.

                                The tea maker in Peshawar.

The Green tea - in Old City Peshwar

                                The modern tea, served in a trendy coffee outlet in Islamabad. 

                                Taste is just bland.

BREAKFAST

Pakistani have a very simple hot breakfast like having paratha with omelette and dooh pathi

or naan with ommelette. But I saw in some street food outlet which serve the hot friedcow liver in chilli and eaten with bread. I never tasted this.

                               Naan Break with chapali kebab - Chappali kebab is a deep fried

                               minced beef with spices and tomato and served hot.

                                Samosa and hot tea.

                                 

                                Naan bread with omelette and chick peas and and hot tea.

                                Cow liver with naan bread.

                                         In further North area like Gilgit, beef dumplings with 

                                         hot chilli sauce are served for breakfast.

FISH

It is funny how places like Islamabad and Lahore is famous for fish. These 2 cities do not have sea around them. Fish usually being marinated withs pices and deep fried. They are eaten with naan or chapatti.

                                         Deep fried fish in Peshawar

                                          Fish and chicken outlet in Peshawar

    

                                                     Fish outlet stall in Islamabad.

SWEET DISH

 Sweet dish or dessert usually are very  sweet for some people. My favorite dessert is Gulab jamun and Gajar Halwar. Desssert or sweet dish usually are very important for occassions like Eid. or birthday parties.

                                          Ras golay - as sweet as it looks they are literally sweet

                                          Gajar Halwar - Only available in winter.
                                          Made of carrot, sugar and cheese.

                                         Gulan Jamun - the balls made of rice flower served  

                                         in rose syrup water and served hot.

                                         

                                     

                                         Dessert Seller

SNACKS

2 of the most common street snacks are the samosa and pakora. They are not just available b the street but also in the bakeries. Samosa and pakora are also important during the  Ramadan month as they are the main food for breakfasting before actually having the big meal. Samosa is the triangular pastry filled with potatoes in curry flavour and pakora is the mixed vegetable wrapped in flour and deep fried.

                                          Pakora (middle0 and samosa( Left) ready to be sold.

                                          Snacks outlet in Peshawar.

                                          Jaleebi - s deep fried crunchy  flour coated with 

                                          sugar water.