January 19, 2015

Dubai: Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa & Emirates Towers

In November, I had to be out of Pakistan in order to renew my visa so I decided to go to Dubai and spend a few days there. I had been previously to Dubai Airport but it was my first time actually visiting.

After I got off the plane and passed customs, I took the metro to the area known as Downtown Dubai, which contains the Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa and a lot of residential and office skyscrapers. At the mall, it was quite early in the morning so no stores were open yet. Then, after almost 2 hours since arriving, I finally emerged to open air near the basin that hosts the Dubai Fountain. I walked around the basin, taking many photos of Burj Khalifa, the highest building in the world. I then made my way to the observatory, just as it opened. I bought my ticket (~40€) and took the elevator to the 124th floor. The view was pretty good, although, unfortunately, there was nothing much interesting to look at while up there… I was surprised by how extended the city was: Even the Burj Al Arab was quite far away. After Burj Khalifa, I walked towards the Emirates Towers. There are pavements and even pedestrian signals but the area is not really designed for walking and it took me a long time under the hot sun to reach the towers. The walk passed next to very modern buildings and yet more were under constructions. After the Emirates Towers, I took the metro to the Dubai Marina, where my hotel was located.

January 18, 2015

Tomb of Mughal Emperor Jahangir

The Tomb of Jahangir is a mausoleum built for Jahangir, who ruled the Mughal Empire from 1605 to 1627. The mausoleum is located in Shahdara Bagh in Lahore, Pakistan, not far from the mausoleum of Jahangir’s wife Nur Jahan. The site also contains a mausoleum for Nur Jahan’s brother, Asif Khan, but my camera ran out of battery before I visited that part.

January 17, 2015

Tomb of Nur Jahan

The Tomb of Nur Jahan is a red sandstone mausoleum in Shahdara Bagh, a suburb of Lahore, Pakistan located north of the Ravi river. It was constructed for the Mughal empress Nur Jahan as her final resting place. It is very close to the tomb of her husband Mughal Emperor Jahangir and the tomb of her brother, Asif Khan. Nowadays, the two parts are separated by a railway.

January 16, 2015

Walk on The Mall, Lahore

The Mall in Lahore, Pakistan is Lahore’s primary and most famous road. It was constructed under the British Raj and was nostalgically named after The Mall in London. The Mall holds significant historical and cultural value, as most of the buildings lining the road are a collection of Mughal and colonial-era architecture, the majority of them built during the Raj era.

January 15, 2015

Jinnah Garden

Jinnah Garden (Bagh-e-Jinnah in Urdu) is a well-maintained park in Lahore, Pakistan, located on Mall Road next to the Lahore Zoo. It is named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. The park has many kinds of plants, walking trails and lawns where to rest. It also houses a number of sports and entertainment facilities, as well as the Quaid-e-Azam Library.

January 14, 2015

Lahore Zoo

The Lahore Zoo was established in 1872 and is one of the oldest zoos in the world. These days, the zoo houses a collection of about 1380 animals of 136 species, making it one of the largest zoos in South Asia.

January 13, 2015

Shalimar Gardens

The Shalimar Gardens (sometimes written as Shalamar Gardens) are a Mughal garden complex located in Lahore, Pakistan. It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan (of Taj Mahal fame) in the mid-17th century. The gardens have been laid out from south to north in three levels of terraces. In the terraces, there are basins with 410 fountains in total. Unfortunately, none of them were working while I was there.

January 12, 2015

Lowering of the flags at Wagah Border

The Wagah border closing ’lowering of the flags’ ceremony, or The Beating Retreat ceremony, is a daily military practice that the security forces of India (Border Security Force) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959. The Wagah Border is only a short car ride from Lahore and the spectacle of the ceremony attracts many visitors from Pakistan. The other side seemed packed as well.

January 11, 2015

Rohtas Fort

Rohtas Fort (Qila Rohtas) is a historical garrison fort located near the city of Jhelum in Punjab, Pakistan. It was built in the 16th century under the orders of Afghan king Sher Shah Suri, to subdue the rebellious tribes of the region. It was captured by Mughal emperor Humayun in 1555. Rohtas was also occasionally used for administrative purposes by the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh after he captured it in 1825.

January 10, 2015

Katasraj Mandir

Katasraj Mandir is a Hindu temple complex situated in Katas village, Punjab, Pakistan, in the Salt Range mountains. Since it is not very far from the Khewra Salt Mine, I went there after the mine, before going back to Lahore. Dedicated to Shiva, the Katasraj temple complex is believed to date back to the Mahabharata era. Many legends are associated with the temples: The five Pandava brothers, heroes of the Sanskrit epic the Mahabharata, stayed here for 4 of the 13 years they spent in exile. Another story goes: After the death of his wife Sati, Shiva cried so much and for so long that his tears created two holy ponds, one in Rajasthan, the other here at Katas. The temple complex was abandoned by local Hindus when they migrated to India during partition in 1947 and no one stayed back. However, it has remained a place of pilgrimage for Hindu worshippers (especially from Sindh).