Photos

Pigeons flying over the massive gateway of the Wazir Khan Mosque. Wazir Khan Mosque was built in 1634 by Sheikh Ilmuddin Ansari. The mosque is located about a furlong from the Delhi gate and off the Kashmiri bazaar. Sheikh Ilmuddin Ansari, a native of Jhang in Chiniot district, was a hakim (physician) by profession, who gradually rose to the position of wazir (governor) in the reign of Shah Jahan and received the title of Wazir Khan. He was also appointed the viceroy of Punjab for seven years from 1632 to 1639.

Wazir Khan Mosque is made of brick. It is known for its beautiful glazed mosaics of Mughal designs on a clear yellow background and fresco paintings. The Persian-Mughal decoration is visible in the geometric forms, the formality of the floral design and the calligraphy. The work was supervised by leading Persian artists who had come to India on the orders of Shah Jahan. Its eastern gateway is an elaborate forecourt which opens on to a square or chowk. One of its most attractive features is the colorful floral and calligraphic designs in glazed tile mosaic work, said to be introduced from Thatta during the 16th century. It is in the decorated panels of this mosque that the cypress as a motif on enameled mosaic work appears for the first time. The improved octagonal minarets, among the earliest of this type in Mughal architecture, are another distinctive feature of the mosque. The square outside the mosque probably once formed an important part of the plan of the old city of Lahore. The mosque was so located in the centre of the city that all the major routes and bazaars were linked with it at right angles.