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.