Day 104 Lahore

Today we are up for a bit of sightseeing. We arranged a car with a driver who took us to the Lahore Fort, we hired a guide on site who have the grand tour of both the Fort and the adjacent mosque. This place must have been a very impressive place in its heyday, it has seen a few different rulers over the years and parts are original and some restored, there is also evidence of different vandalisms that have occured during different periods. 


We entered the fort through one of the many gates. This one was high and wide to allow the elephants bringing in the quests. 


This staircase was designed for the elephants to go up - big wide steps. The ladies could sit above unseen and see the guests arrive.


This is an old email system, the holes in the walls are for the message pigeons to return with their messages. It was highly decorated and very old.


This was where performances took place.




Part of the women’s quarters. 







Looking from the fort towards the mosque. 

Badshahi Mosque can cater for up to 100,000 people. 





This gate leads to the entrance of the mosque, the pillars were made to resemble elephants feet.





Intricate work make from vegetable dyes. 




We then went to the Lahore museum with a mixture of Muslim and Hindu exhibits as well as a very nice exhibition of contemporary art. 

Our final port of call was the Wagah border to see the closing ceremony. I have read about and seen pictures of this and it did not disappoint. Wonderful theatre and great choreography on both sides. It was a lot more involved than I thought and it also wasn’t as confrontational as I had imagined, it was much more ceremonial. The Indian stands for spectators is huge and towered over the much smaller Pakistan side. 
On our side one side was for families and one stand for single young men. What goes on before the main event is part of the fun. Both sides play loud music and try to out chant each other. 















All in all in a thoroughly enjoyable day but how we will acclimatise to this humidity I do not know. 

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