I'm in the capital of the Punjab, the most Cosmopolitan and the most
visited city in Pakistan welcome to the cultural Treasure Trove of Lahore
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Of the 12 original gates to the wall City only six remain and this has to be the most famous,
the Delhi gate, now back in the day the gates were closed every night - that ended
under British rule, in fact the British originally destroyed this gate but then
the British Raj thankfully also helped to rebuild it. the famous wall city of Lahore
dates back a thousand years and it's probably one of the largest labyrinths in the world so
to make sure I don't get completely lost I have my guides Kasa and Kareem
I have never been down narrower streets - that's one front door and that's another.
this is the narrowest street in Pakistan and it's
called elbow street because if you put your elbows out you'll hit them
in this part of the old city there's been quite a lot of restoration work
in this street by Germany particularly though by
Norway. this is the Chittar gate or the white gate as it was known during British
times. it's not been white for quite some time but there are plans to restore
it. passing through the chittar gate the next
architectural Masterpiece is the 17th century Wazir Khan mosque
it's considered to be the most beautiful mosque in the whole of
Lahore and I'm certainly not going to argue with
that. Wazir Khan was appointed by the Mugal emperor Shah Jahan and he built the
mosque around the tomb of a 14th century Sufi Saint. it is famed for its Exquisite frescos
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we are now entering the Royal hammam, the Royal baths. these Italian style Fresco were painted
in 1634 and were apparently the first in the whole of the subcontinent. the hamam has been
painstakingly restored and only reopened a few years ago and again mainly Norwegian money - so
thank you Norway! there's a really efficient underfloor heating system here just to ensure
that as you lie out here for your massage you are very very comfortable indeed. they
really knew what they were doing when they made this here we have a cold water Cascade
people would pay very good money even now to experience that! the
historian William Dalrymple said this was the best architectural
restoration project he had seen in South Asia and he knows what he's talking about
these days of course Britain can't even build a railway (!) things were very
different back in the 19th century just look at this magnificent station here at Lahore
now I love travelling by train but maybe not today and maybe not that
one. this train is off on the 5-Hour journey to Faisalabad
unfortunately he seems to have left half the train behind [Music]
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now for some spiritual peace at a mosque that was for a time the largest in the world
whenever I thought of Lahore this is the image that was conjured up,
the incredible Badshahi mosque, one of the largest in the world. the mosque was
completed in 1673 taking only 3 years to build - wow that Mughal Construction Company really
knew how to manage a project! the interior is actually smaller than I expected but when you
take into account the courtyard as well there's still room for at least 100,000
[Music] people. facing the mosque is the vast expanse of the Lahore fort and it's
many layers of History - pre-muslim, pre-Mughal, Mughal, Sikh and British.
UNESCO draws particular attention to the incredible mosaics housed in the
[Music] fort. these spikes were to stop the elephants trying to push the gate open
servants standing there threw showers of flowers, rose petals over troops
of the Mughal - itwas glorious life - it would have been an incredible scene
wouldn't it ?yeah and elephants climbed up, elephant slike of Land Cruisers that time.
dating to 1633 this Garden was strictly ladies only. here we are in the Hammam,
the Royal baths. I wish there was some cool water in there right now I tell you!
four things necessary for King - woman wine war and horse and she giving him wine. from that
balcony the emperor would, well occasionally, listen to his subjects. when the Sikhks sacked
the fort they made sure to take every single inlaid gem. leaving the best till last we're
now visiting the Pearl mosque dating from 1645 and reputed to be very very haunted.
What about Lahore's modern day palaces? well they are just a short drive away.
A world away from the old wall city of Lahore this is modern Lahore, the District of Gulberg
with some of the highest real estate prices in the whole of Pakistan. talking of money
the China Pakistan Economic Corridor is very evident in Lahore, Beijing has invested in
new highways and most notably funded and built the new Metro System - a real game changer for Lahore,
the first line opened in 2020 with a length of 27 km and a cost of $1.6 billion [Music]
time for some Tranquility in shah Jahan's Shalimar Gardens,a UNESCO world heritage site. it was
designed as a Persian Paradise Garden and was created when the Mughal Empire was at its artistic
Peak .Shalimar means full Moonlight. there are a total of 410 fountains in the shalimar gardens but
unfortunately as I don't have VIP status none of them are working today - still beautiful
nonetheless. that is the very particular Echo that you get from Red Sandstone from Jaipur.
The extent of the Garden today is vast, around 40 acres, but when first built it covered an area of
120 Acres. all of that has since been lost to the encroaching city. after independence in
1947 many Muslim migrants from India settled in Lahore. more recently Mass migration from other
parts of Pakistan has fuelled Lahore's rapid population growth and resulting uncontrolled
urban sprawl. around 14 million people now inhabit the metro area,a figure that grows
by the day. taking the grand trunk Road East out of Lahore, the border with India is only
30 km away. before partition you could drive the 55 km from Lahore to Amritsar without stopping. of
course these days there is now a very hard border. indeed at one of the most famous border crossings
in the world the Wagah border crossing .now the ceremony here is famous and it's something that
I have wanted to see for many many years. I've only ever seen it on television filmed from the
Indian side so it's going to be great fun to see it with a different perspective from Pakistan
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the first battle is over the music,
each side turns it up louder and louder so that you can't hear the other side [Music]
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without any doubt that is the most spectacular border closing, flag
lowering ceremony you'll find anywhere in the world - it's part Pop concert, football match,
political posturing and theatre, and it's even more curious to think that although
the two factions here apparently get on very well and they practice, not too far north from
here in Kashmir the situation between the two countries is very different indeed. but still
it's great to see that here on the Wagah border crossing both sides can really enjoy the Rivalry
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on the way back from Wagah we made a stop at Lahore's most sacred site Data Darbar,
the largest Sufi Shrine in South Asia. it houses the Tomb of the
11th century Mystic Ali Alhajvery. I was allowed access but only to take still
[Music] photographs. this is food Street in Lahore, the number one dining destination.
it's a street that used to be famous for something very different .let's just say
well "dancing girls" but then an entrepreneur opened a restaurant given the incredible views
it has over the fort and the mosque and the rest is history, restaurants everywhere now,
probably one of the best is where we're going - Haveli - welcome to Haveli
it's an absolutely fabulous renovation of a 300 year old building. really beautiful. we're just
waiting for a table on the roof Terrace. this is going to be incredible. I hope the
food is as good as the ambiance. eating barbecued paneer tikka high over the rooftops of the Walled
city of Lahore. I can think of no better way to finish this short stay in this marvellous city.
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