A glimpse of the royal mosque of Mughal summer capital | Badshahi

Bathed in golden sunlight, walk from the ancient fort of Lahore to the magnificent Badshahi Mosque directly opposite. The mosque faces the Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort, which is enough to show its former royal status. "Badshahi" is the transliteration of "king" in Persian, so it is also called "Royal Mosque". It was presided over by Shahjahan's son Aurangzeb in 1671 and completed in 1773. It is currently the second largest mosque in Pakistan and the fifth largest in the world. The mosque is built on a raised platform, with a magnificent exterior, and the entire building is composed of arches, squares, and prayer halls. Enter from the tall arch, the wall is made of red sandstone. Entering the temple, it is a square marble square with a length of 160 meters from north to south and a width of 159 meters from east to west, which can accommodate 95,000 people to pray at the same time. The square water pool in the center of the square is for Muslims to do purification rituals. The main prayer hall is located at the innermost part of the square, rectangular in shape, with three domes built in the center and sides of the hall roof, the central dome is about 18 meters high. The dome forms a whole with the four minarets around the wall. The floor of the hall is paved with marble, and the recessed wall is made of red bricks, which is unique. The porcelain inlay on the wall has a strong Persian and Mughal style. The main door in the middle of the hall is high and wide, with 5 side doors on each side, and there are corridors inside. From the corridor under the north wall, you can see the largest park in Pakistan, Iqbal Park, and the Minar-e-Pakistan tower standing in it, where countless locals enjoy their happy weekend time. Completely immersed in the magnificence of the Badshahi Mosque under the sunset, a glimpse is the past when the Mughal dynasty was at its peak. Next to the Badshahi Mosque, there is a beautiful and exquisite Hindu temple and a Jain temple, but tourists are not allowed to visit.