Badshai Mosque

Badshai Mosque

Badshahi Mosque 

In Lahore

Pakistan

Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan

The Badshahi Mosque in Lahore was commissioned by the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Constructed between 1671 and 1673, it was the largest mosque in the world upon construction.
Address: Lahore
Architectural type: Mosque
Leadership: Aurangzeb
Architect: Nawab Zain Yar Jang Bahadur
Architectural styles: Indo-Islamic architecture, Islamic architecture, Mughal architecture.

• History of Badshahi Masjid Lahore Pakistan

The construction of the mosque took about two years, from May 1671 to April 1673. The mosque is situated opposite the Lahore Fort, featuring its importance in the Mughal Empire. In conjunction within the sculpture of the mosque, a new gate was constructed at the fort, named Alamgiri Gate after the name of Emperor. From 1852 onwards, intermittent repairs were held out under the administration of the Badshahi Mosque Authority. Comprehensive repairs were carried out from 1939 to 1960 which costs about 4.8 million rupees; this brought the mosque to its original form and condition. In 2000, the repair work of marble inlay in the main vault was repaired; recently a small museum has also been added to the mosque complex, which contains relics of Muhammad, his cousin, and his daughter, Hazrat Fatima Zahra.

The interior of the Main Prayer Hall is richly embellished with stucco tracery (Manbatkari), fresco work, and inlaid marble. The exterior is decorated with stone carving as well as marble inlay on red sandstone, specially of lotiform motifs in bold relief. The embellishment has Indo-Greek, Central Asian and Indian architectural influence both in technique and motifs.

The skyline is furnished by beautiful ornamental merlons inlaid with marble lining adding grace to the perimeter of the mosque. In its various architectural features like the vast square courtyard, the side aisles (dalans), the four corner minarets (minars), the projecting central transept of the prayer chamber and the grand entrance gate, is summed up the history of development of mosque architecture of the Muslim world over the thousand years prior to its construction in 1673.

What to See at Badshahi Masjid Lahore Pakistan

Like the character of its founder, the mosque is bold, vast and impressive in its appearance. For a long time the mosque has been considered as the largest mosque in the world. The interior has rich embellishment in stucco tracery (Manbatkari) and panelling with a fresco touch, all in bold relief, as well as marble inlay.  The exterior is decorated with stone carving as well as marble inlay on red sandstone, especially of loti form motifs in bold relief. The skyline is furnished by beautiful ornamental merlons inlaid with marble lining adding grace to the perimeter of the mosque.

The walls were built with small kiln-burnt bricks laid in kankar, lime mortar (a kind of hydraulic lime) but have a veneer of red sandstone. The steps leading to the prayer chamber and its plinth are in variegated marble.