Lahore

According to legend, Lahore was named after King Lav (son of Hindu God Rama) who is believed to have ruled Lahore in ancient times. A temple of Lav can still be found in the Lahore fort which however is closed. Lahore came under Muslim rule in 713 CE when Umayyad Muslim Arab army led by Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Punjab, and the present Pakistan from Kashmir to the Arabian Sea. Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni placed it under the rule of his governor, Malik Ayaz. When Sultan Qutb-ud-din Aybak was crowned in 1206 here, he became the first Muslim Sultan of the subcontinent. From 1524 to 1752 Lahore was part of the Mughal Empire.

During Akbar's rule, Lahore was the capital of the empire from 1584 to 1598. During this time a massive fort, the Lahore Fort, was built on the fundaments of an older fort in the 1560s. This fort was later extended by Jahangir, a Mughal emperor who is now buried in the city. Shah Jahan, his son, was born in Lahore and is famous for building the world-renowned Taj Mahal in India. He, like his father, extended Lahore Fort and built many other structures in the city, showering more affection on his hometown than any other city. The last of the great Mughals, Aurangzeb, ruling from 1658 to 1707, built the city's most famous monuments, the Badshahi Masjid and the Alamgiri Gate next to the Lahore Fort. As the Mughal Empire declined, the Sikhs captured and ruled the city from 1799 to 1849, making Lahore the capital of the Sikh empire. However the last Anglo-Sikh war resulted in a British victory, bringing Lahore under the rule of the British crown till the state of Pakistan was formed in 1947.

Lahore played host to perhaps the most important session of the Muslim League political party in 1940, where the Lahore Resolution was passed. At the time of independence from British colonial rule in 1947, Lahore was heavily affected by large-scale riots between Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Lahore was briefly threatened by the Indian Army, which managed to capture the outlying areas of the Lahore district, that was later given back as per the Tashkent Agreement.K Conboy, "Elite Forces of India and Pakistan" ISBN 1855322099, page 9 Mohammed Ayoob, K. Subrahmanyam, "The Liberation War", page 247 In 1996, in 1974 Islamic Summit Conference was held in this great city, the ICC Cricket World Cup final match was held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Geography and climate

Lahore city is bounded on the north and west by the Sheikhupura District, on the east by India and on the south Kasur District. The Ravi River flows on the northern side of Lahore. Lahore city covers a total land area of 404 km², but the city is still growing at a considerable rate. The city lies between 31°15′ and 31°45′ North latitude and 74°01′ and 74°39′ East longitude.

The climate of Lahore faces many extremes during the months of May, June, and July. During these months temperatures soar to 45–50 degrees Celsius which is the hottest time of the year. Following the end of July and beginning of August the monsoon seasons starts with heavy rainfall throughout the city as well as the province.

The minimum temperature varies between 39 and 26 degrees Celsius respectively, while December, January and February are the coldest months when temperature can drop to −1 degree Celsius and dropped to its lowest ever in January 2006 at −2.

Government

The City-District of Lahore comprises nine administrative towns and one separate military cantonment but there are also some historic neighbourhoods of Lahore.

Administrative towns
* Aziz Bhatti Town
* Ravi Town
* Shalimar Town
* Wagah Town
* Data Ganj Baksh Town
* Gulberg Town
* Allama Iqbal Town
* Samanabad Town
* Nishtar Town

Cont.
* Lahore Cantonment
* Johar Town
* Faisal Town
* Model Town
* Garden Town
* WAPDA Town
* Green Town

Neighbourhoods
* Abdalian Housing Society
* Sabza-Zar Housing Scheme
* Gawalmandi
* Laxshmi Chowk
* Qila Gujar Sing
* Township
* Walled City
* Shahdara
* Ravi Town
* Baghanpura
* Krishan Nagar
* Defence Housing Authority (Lahore)

Demographics

According to the 1998 census 86.2%, or 6,896,000 of the population are Punjabis, 10.2% or 816,000 are Muhajirs. There are known to be more than a million Pashtun refugess in Lahore(the vast majority of whom are settling), probably about 15% of the population. Finally, the Seraikis at 0.4% number about 32,000. Many languages are spoken in Lahore, including Punjabi, Urdu and English.

Economy

The center to Lahore's economy is the LSE, Lahore Stock Exchange, Pakistan's second largest stock exchange which is linked to the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) the largest in the country. The single biggest investment is of over 200 million dollars . It has offices of all the Government corporations including WAPDA and WASA as well as other public companies such as Deewan Motors, Habib Bank, Pakistan State Oil and Lever Brothers, (the highest price per share on the LSE.)Lahore also hosts major IT companies established in Pakistan, notably NetSol Technologies Inc,Systems Limited,TechLogix,Xvor (Public, NASDAQ:NTWK) [1]

Newly restored Tollinton Market on The Mall - one of Lahore's busiest thoroughfares

The city of Lahore never sleeps with food & restaurant businesses open all night long. They serve traditional dishes for dinner, till its time for serving breakfast in the morning. The markets are usually open long into the night. Lahore is the second largest financial hub of Pakistan after Karachi, and has various industrial areas including Kot Lakhpat and the new Sundar Industrial Estate (near Raiwand). Lahore will soon be home to the tallest hotel in Pakistan, the new Pearl Continental Hotel.

As Lahore expands the previous residential areas are being turned into commercial centres and the suburban population is constantly moving outwards. This has resulted in the development of the Liberty market, the MM Alam Road (for continental food), the new Jail Road which has one of the largest office buildings in Lahore, and the new eight-lane Main Boulevard which has some of Lahore's largest shopping centres.

The suburban population from these areas are moving into less busy areas which results in a thriving construction industry and several large housing projects in Lahore. These include Bahria Town, Lake City project, Eden Villas and a project by the Dhabi Group (a joint Pakistan-UAE partnership) to construct a new city on the outskirts of Lahore, which will be larger than Abu Dhabi. Lahore is home to many IT and software firms.

Lahore is famous as the hub of handmade carpet manufacturing in Pakistan. At present, hand-knotted carpets produced in and around Lahore are among Pakistan's leading export products and their manufacture is the second largest cottage and small industry. Craftsmen in Lahore have the capacity to produce any type of carpet using all the popular motifs: gulls, medallions, paisleys, traceries, and geometric designs in various combinations. However, the new Institute of Carpet Designing and Weaving has been established in Bahawalpur to train teachers. The Lahore Design Centre at the Punjab Small Industries Corporation maintains a separate section of carpet designing to experiment with new designs. Ninety-five percent of the carpets are produced for export and Turkoman, Persian and Caucasian designs are crafted since they meet the popular taste abroad. Lahore is famous for single-wefted designs in Turkoman and Caucasian style, and double-wefted Mughal types.

Culture

Panoramic view of the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort, and Ranjit Singh's Samadhi from Coocoo's Café (Photo by Jawad Zakariya)

Lahore is a very festive city, the people of Lahore celebrate many traditions throughout the year, with blending of moghal, western and latest trends. As Lahore has large muslim population, Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha are celebrated in full swing with various concerts held in the city. Many people decorate their houses and light candles to light up the streets and houses.

Basant is a Punjab festival that marks the coming of spring. Basant celebrations in Pakistan are centered in Lahore and people from all over the country and abroad come to the city for the annual festivities. Kite flying competitions take place all over the city's rooftops during Basant. Currently the kite flying has been drawn under restriction by court due to a number of casualities caused every year by the strings used to fly kites. Now it is considered an illegal phenomenon, sadly a complete ban on kite flying has been put in place to prevent any more injuries. During 2006 the local Government of Punjab banned kite flying until further notice.

A dancing horse at Lahore's Annual Horse & Cattle Show

A swarm of kites on sale on the streets of Lahore on the eve of the Basant (Spring) festival

The Festival of Lamps or Mela Chiraghan is a very important and popular event in Lahore. This is celebrated at the same time as Basant, every spring on the last Friday of March outside the Shalimar Gardens. During the festival, people from all walks of life gather from all over the province to actively participate in the Festival. National Horse and Cattle Show is one of the most famous annual festivals, the National Horse and Cattle Show is also held in Spring in the Fortress Stadium. During the week long activities, there is a display of the finest livestock, horse and camel dances, tent pegging, colourful folk dances from all regions of Pakistan, mass-band displays and tattoo shows in the evenings.

On August 14, every year all over Pakistan, the people of Pakistan celebrate the day Pakistan gained its independence from the British Raj for an independent state for muslims. There are lots of celebrations in Lahore, the streets are full of joyful people singing and dancing. Concerts are held with many pop and classical singers.

The Lahore Marathon, an elite event is part of an annual package of six international marathons being sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank across Asia, Africa and Middle East. The Lahore marathon race carries prize money of approximately US$ 100,000. More than 20,000 athletes both from Pakistan and all over the world come to Lahore to participate in this event. It was first held on January 30, 2005, and this year it was held on January 29, 2006. More than 22,000 people participated in the race this year. The third Lahore Marathon is scheduled to be held on January 14, 2007 Lahore Marathon Website.

Educational institutions

Lahore boasts hundreds of schools, private and public. The recent decade has witnessed a major surge in higher education institutions' numbers. Lahore is considered one of the most open-minded and enlightened cities of Pakistan. A list of premier education institutions in the city of Lahore include: Aitchison College, Allam Iqbal Medical College, Institute of Islamic Scineces, COMSATS Institute Of Information Technology, Crescent Model Higher Secondary School, Lahore School of Economics (LSE), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), University College of Information Technology (PUCIT), University of Central Punjab, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, University">of Lahore, [http://pakmed.net/college/fjmc/ Fatima Jinnah Medical College,University of Management and Technology, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences and University of the Punjab.

Sites of interest

Hall of Public Audience at the Lahore Fort

The Shalamar Gardens built by Emperor Shah Jehan

The mausoleum of Allama Iqbal, the Poet of the East

The Lahore Museum hosts one of the world's finest collections of Gandhara and Mughal art

The Hazuri Bagh gate

* General
** Minar-e-Pakistan (Tower of Pakistan)
** Lahore Fort (The citadel of the city)
** Lahore Zoo
** Hazuri Bagh Baradari
** Chauburji
** Shahi Mohalla
* Gates of Lahore
** Akbari Gate
** Bhati Gate
** Delhi Gate
** Kashmiri Gate
** Lohari Gate (also known as 'Lahori Gate')
** Masti Gate
** Mochi Gate
** Mori Gate
** Roshnai Gate
** Shahalmi Gate
** Shairanwala Gate
** Taxali Gate
** Yakki Gate
* Mausoleums
** Data Durbar Complex
** Tomb of Muhammad Iqbal
** Bibi Pak Daman
** Samadhi of Ranjit Singh
** Tomb of Shah Jamal
** Tomb of Lal Hussain
** Tomb of Anārkalī
** Tomb of Jahangir
** Tomb of Empress Nur Jehan
* Mosques
** Badshahi Masjid
** Dai Anga Mosque
** Data Durbar Complex
** Shia Masjid
** Suneri Mosque
** Wazir Khan Mosque
** Moti Masjid
** Masjid-e-Shuhda (Martyr's Mosque)
** Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum
* Churches
** Regal Church
** Hall Road Church
** Convent of Jesus & Mary
** Saint Anthony's Church
* Museums
** Lahore Museum
* Gardens
** Shalimar Gardens
** Hazuri Bagh
** Iqbal Park
** Lawrence Gardens
* Famous Roads
** The Mall (shopping and business)
** Jail Road (business)
** M M Alam Road (restaurants and shopping)
** Main Boulevard (commercial and shopping)
** Canal Bank (residential and educational)
** Ferozepur Road (commercial and sports)
** Food Street (outdoor cafés)
** Tourist Street

Shopping

Lahore's most famous tech-bazaar is the Hafeez Center, located on the Gulberg Main Boulevard and Electronics Market at Hall Road. Here you will find all the latest computer systems, accessories, mobile phones and music CD's that one is looking for. It is a very busy shopping centre which one will be able to find all types of software or components for your personal computer and good prices and with the guidance of computer experts.

The Main Boulevard passes through the heart of the upscale shopping and residential district of Gulberg

Other well known and popular malls are the Liberty Market Center in Gulberg and Pace. When Pace was opened it was very similar to your local Wal-mart or Tesco stores, however, due to popularity the owner converted it into a mall with many shops that offered a wide variety of goods ranging from clothes, groceries to house decorations. There are also many smart shopping malls and districts located in Gulberg, Model Town, MM Alam Road and Defence. Apart from these are many new shopping areas being developed in many of Lahore's brand new suburban developments, such as Bahria, Lake City, and the cantonment.

A shopping mall in downtown Lahore

For traditional shopping, Anarkali bazaar is the most fascinating of the city's many bazaars. The alleys and lanes of this bazaar are full of exciting wares, especially traditional crafts like leather ware, embroidered garments, glass bangles, beaten gold and silver jewellery, creations in silk-anything that your wish for a bargain. It is named after the famous courtesan of Akbar's court called Anarkali (Pomegranate Blossom). Anarkali too has its share of historical monuments. There is the grave of Emperor Qutbuddin Aibak, who died falling off his horse, while playing polo. And Mahmud Ghaznavi's General Malik Ayyaz lies buried in the commercial area of Rang Mahal.

Restaurants and cafés

While Lahore has a great many traditional and modern restaurants, the turn of the century has seen the appearance of Western fast food chains, such as McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway Sandwiches, Dunkin Donuts, Nando's and Kentucky Fried Chicken in new shopping centres all over the city. A recent tourist attraction in Lahore are the famous Food Street in the old historic districts of Lahore (Gawaalmandi, Anarkali, and Badshahi). Food Streets have undergone massive restorations and are cordoned off in the evenings for pedestrian traffic only, with innumerable cafés serving renowned local delicacies under the lights and balconies of restored havelis (traditional residential dwellings).

Some of the trendiest restaurants in Lahore are concentrated on the M M Alam Road in Gulberg. Here dozens of world-class culinary establishments, ranging from western franchises to very traditional, ethnic, or theme restaurants, attract all manner of Lahore's citizens, from affluent yuppies and hip teenagers to entire families celebrating a night out. New restaurants are constantly opening, and the business is extremely competitive. It is said that eating well is a peculiarly Lahori attribute, and the innumerable crowded, boisterous restaurants of Lahore that are open late into the night are a visible testament to this passion, with the more popular ones being fully booked out in advance.

One of Lahore's unique café restaurants is "Coocoo's Den", located in the old city just behind the Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort. The restaurant is housed in a 300-year old "Kothi" style house of a famous artist. At different points in the life of this property, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Muslim families have owned it. Another famous Lahore landmark is the Pak Tea House in Anarkali, long a favoured haunt of intellectuals and artists.

Transport

The Allama Iqbal International Airport

Lahore is one of the most accessible cities of Pakistan. In addition to the historic Grand Trunk Road (G.T. road), a motorway was completed in 2000, from Lahore to Islamabad. Due to Lahore ever increasing traffic problems the Government introduced many underpasses to ease conjestions and prevent traffic jams. According to official figures, Lahore has the highest number of underpasses in Pakistan, due to an attempt by the government to link one end of the city to the other end.however, Lahore still has very high levels of air pollution and smog, which can accumulate over days due to Lahore having little preciptation throughout the year. this is also due to the industry growing at a a dizzying rate in Lahore, with lots of factories opening all the time.

The Pakistan Railways Headquarters is located in lahore, the only railway operator in Pakistan fully owned by the Government. Pakistan Railways provides an important mode of transportation for communters in Lahore. The railway connects the farthest corners of the country and brings them closer to Lahore for business, sight seeing, pilgrimage and education. It has been a great integrating force and forms the life line of the country by catering to its needs for large scale movement of people and freight in and out of Lahore. The Lahore Central Railway Station is also located in the heart of the city, which was built during the British Colonial era.

As air travel has been on the rise, the Government built a completely new airport for the city that was constructed in 2003. It was named Allama Iqbal International Airport after the national poet of Pakistan Mohammed Iqbal. It facilitates for the increasing demand by passengers and the growth of the city for which it was built to accommodate. It is served by many international airlines as well as the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines. With the opening of Allama Iqbal International Airport, the previous airport now operates as the Hajj Terminal to facilitate the great influx of pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform the hajj every year. The Hajj services are operated by the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), however recent news suggests that the Government is going to allow all airlines operating to Pakistan to airlift pilgrims.