Shalimar Gardens (Lahore)
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The Shalimar Gardens, sometimes written Shalamar Gardens, were built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in Lahore, Pakistan. The site of Shalimar Gardens originally belonged to one of the noble Zaildar<b><i> families in the region. The family was also given the Royal title of 'Mian' by the Mughal Emperor, for its services to the Empire.
Mian Muhammad Yusuf, then the head of Mian family, donated the site to Emperor Shah Jahan, after pressure was placed on the family by the royal engineers, who wished to build on the site due to its good position and soil. In return, Shah Jahan granted the Mian family governance of the Shalimar Gardens. The Shalimar Gardens remained under the custodianship of this family for more than 350 years. In 1962, the Shalimar Gardens were nationalised by General Ayub Khan because top Mian family members had opposed his imposition of martial law on Pakistan. The site has been neglected since then and is now on Unesco's list of World Heritage sites in danger.
The Shalimar Gardens are a particularly fine example of Mughal architecture during its high period. They are laid out in the form of an oblong parallelogram, surrounded by a high brick wall, which is famous for its intricate fretwork. The Gardens measure 1,200 paces in length and 800 in breadth, and contain three successive terraces. The terraces are elevated by 4-5 metres (13-15 feet) above one another, and the Gardens cover approximately 80 acres (320,000 m²). A canal, brought from a great distance, intersects the Gardens and discharges into a large marble basin in the second terrace. From this basin, and from the canal, rise 450 fountains, which discharge into wide marble pools. The surrounding area is rendered cooler by the flowing of the fountains, which is a particular relief for visitors during Lahore's blistering summers. It is a credit to the ingenuity of the Mughal engineers that even today scientists are unable to fathom how the fountains were operated originally.
However, as can be seen from the pictures below, none of the fountains are currently operational because water supply lines to the fountains were broken in 1999 during road-widening works close to the Gardens.
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Related
External Links
- Unesco page on the Shalimar Gardens (http://whc.unesco.org/sites/171.htm)
- Article on the Shalimar Gardens (http://www.alephinc.net/lahore/html/shalimar.htm)