Lahore - History, Geography and climate, Government, Demographics, Economy, Culture, Educational institutions, Sites of interest, Transport, Sister Cities

31°34N 74°22E, pop (2000e) 4 777 000. City in Punjab province, Pakistan, between the Ravi and the Sutlej Rivers, 1030 km/640 mi from Karachi; second largest city in Pakistan; taken in 1849 by the British, who made it the capital of Punjab; railway; two universities (1882, 1961); trade and communications centre; textiles, carpets, footwear, electrical goods, railway engineering, metal goods; considered the cultural capital of Pakistan; museum, Badshahi Mosque, Wazir Khan Mosque, Shalimar Gardens, royal fort of Akbar; a world heritage site.

Lahore لاہور
General Information
Province	Punjab
Location	55°55′36″N, 74°21′00″E
Altitude	218 metres AMSL
Area	2,014 km²
Calling code	042
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
No. of Towns	9
Population	5,143,495 1998
Estimate	6,485,175 2006
density	6,396 persons/km²
Government
City Mayor (Nazim)	Mian Amer Mehmood
No. of Union Councils	150
Emblem
Website
Lahore Government Website

Lahore (Urdu: لاہور) is the capital of the province of Punjab, and the second most populated city in Pakistan, also known as the Gardens of the Mughals or City of Gardens, after the significant rich heritage of the Mughal Empire. Lahore is estimated to have approximately 8 million inhabitants (with millions more living around the city), which makes it the second largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi.

Punjabi is the language of the province, and is the most widely spoken language in Lahore.

Since the rise of the Persian Empire, Lahore has been given the status of being the capital of nearly every empire that has ruled the region. After his death, his son Jahangir took over control and Lahore remained the capital for over a century until the Mughal Empire fell and the city was taken over by the Sikhs. The Sikhs ruled the Punjab region for over half a century until the British Raj took control and Lahore become part of the British empire until independence in 1947AD.

Due to Lahore's rich history, the mughal and colonial architecture has still been presreved in all its splendour. Mughal architecture such as, the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort, Shalimar Gardens and the mausoleums of Jehangir and Nur Jehan are very popular tourist spots in the city.

History

According to legend, Lahore was named after King Lav (son of Hindu God Rama) who is believed to have ruled Lahore in ancient times;

During Akbar's rule, Lahore was the capital of the empire from 1584 to 1598. He, like his father, extended Lahore Fort and built many other structures in the city, showering more affection on his hometown than any other city. The last of the great Mughals, Aurangzeb, who ruled from 1658 to 1707, built the city's most famous monuments, the Badshahi Masjid and the Alamgiri Gate next to the Lahore Fort. As the Mughal Empire declined, the Sikhs captured and ruled the city from 1799 to 1849, making Lahore the capital of the Sikh empire.

Three heroic martyrs in India's struggle struggle for freedom, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, were hanged in Lahore for their revolutionionary activities against the British Government on March 23, 1931.

Lahore played host to a most important session of the Muslim League when the Lahore Resolution was passed on 24th March 1940. In 1974, Islamic Summit Conference was held in this great city, in 1996 the ICC Cricket World Cup final match was held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Geography and climate

Lahore is bounded on the north and west by the Sheikhupura District, on the east by India and on the south Kasur District. Lahore city covers a total land area of 404 km², but the city is still growing at a considerable rate.

The weather of Lahore is extreme during the months of May, June, and July when the temperatures soar to 45–50 degrees Celsius which is the hottest time of the year.

Government

The City-District of Lahore comprises nine administrative towns and one separate military cantonment but there are also some historic neighbourhoods of Lahore.

Administrative towns Aziz Bhatti Town Ravi Town Shalimar Town Wagah Town Data Ganj Baksh Town Gulberg Town Allama Iqbal Town Samanabad Town Nishtar Town Lahore Cantonment

Localities New Muslim Town Hassan Town Awan Town Mustafa Town Johar Town Faisal Town Model Town Garden Town WAPDA Town Green Town

Neighbourhoods Shad Bagh Gawalmandi Laxshmi Chowk Qila Gujar Sing Township Walled City Shahdara Ravi Town Baghanpura Krishan Nagar Defence Housing Authority (Lahore)

Demographics

According to the 1998 census 86.2%, or 6,896,000 of the population are Punjabis, 10.2% or 816,000 are Muhajirs.

Economy

The center to Lahore's economy is the LSE, Lahore Stock Exchange, Pakistan's second largest stock exchange which is linked to the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) the largest in the country. It has offices of all the Government corporations including WAPDA and WASA as well as other public companies such as Deewan Motors, Habib Bank, Pakistan State Oil and Lever Brothers, (the highest price per share on the LSE.) Lahore also hosts major IT companies established in Pakistan, notably FiveRivers Technologies, NetSol Technologies Inc, Systems Limited, TechLogix, and Xvor.

As Lahore expands the previous residential areas are being turned into commercial centres and the suburban population is constantly moving outwards. This has resulted in the development of the Liberty Market, the MM Alam Road, the new Jail Road which has some of the largest office buildings in Lahore, and the new eight-lane Main Boulevard which has some of Lahore's largest and finest shopping centres.

The suburban population from these areas are moving into less busy areas which results in a thriving construction industry and several large housing projects in Lahore. These include Bahria Town, Lake City project, Eden Villas and a project by the Dhabi Group (a joint Pakistan-UAE partnership) to construct a new city on the outskirts of Lahore.

Lahore is famous as the hub of handmade carpet manufacturing in Pakistan.

Culture

Lahore is a very festive city, the people of Lahore celebrate many traditions throughout the year, with blending of moghal, western and latest trends. As Lahore has large muslim population, Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha are celebrated in full swing with various concerts held in the city. Basant celebrations in Pakistan are centered in Lahore and people from all over the country and abroad come to the city for the annual festivities.

The Festival of Lamps or Mela Chiraghan is a very important and popular event in Lahore.

The Lahore Marathon, an elite event is part of an annual package of six international marathons being sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank across Asia, Africa and Middle East.

Educational institutions

Lahore boasts thousands of schools, private and public. A list of premier education institutions in the city of Lahore include:Aitchison College, King Edward Medical College (KEMC), Government College University (GCU), Forman Christian College (A Chartered University), Allama Iqbal Medical College, Institute of Islamic Sciences, COMSATS Institute Of Information Technology, Crescent Model Higher Secondary School, Lahore School of Economics (LSE), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Oriental College Of Arts (OCA), University College of Information Technology (PUCIT), University of Central Punjab, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, University of Lahore, Fatima Jinnah Medical College, University of Management and Technology, University of South Asia, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, University of the Punjab, Kinnaird College for Women and National College of Arts.

Sites of interest

General Minar-e-Pakistan (Minaret of Pakistan) Lahore Fort (The Citadel of the city) Lahore Zoo Hazuri Bagh Baradari Chauburji Shahi Mohalla Aitchison College Gates of Lahore Akbari Gate Bhati Gate Delhi Gate Kashmiri Gate Lohari Gate Masti Gate Mochi Gate Mori Gate Roshnai Gate Shahalmi Gate Shairanwala Gate Taxali Gate Yakki Gate Mausoleums Data Durbar Tomb of Muhammad Iqbal Bibi Pak Daman Samadhi of Ranjit Singh Tomb of Shah Jamal Tomb of Lal Hussain Tomb of Anārkalī Tomb of Jahangir Tomb of Empress Nur Jehan Tomb of Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan Amusement Parks Joy Land Sindbad Jallo Park Sozo Water Park Mosques Badshahi Masjid Dai Anga Mosque Data Durbar Complex Shia Masjid Suneri Mosque Wazir Khan Mosque Moti Masjid Masjid-e-Shuhda (Martyr's Mosque) Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum Churches Regal Church Hall Road Church Convent of Jesus & Mary Saint Anthony's Church Museums Lahore Museum Gardens Shalimar Gardens Hazuri Bagh Iqbal Park Lawrence Gardens Mochi Bagh Famous Roads The Mall (shopping and business) Jail Road (business) M M Alam Road (restaurants and shopping) Main Boulevard (commercial and shopping) Canal Bank (residential and educational) Ferozepur Road (commercial and sports) Food Street (outdoor cafés) Tourist Street

Shopping

Lahore's most famous tech-bazaar is the Hafeez Center, located on the Gulberg Main Boulevard and Electronics Market at Hall Road. Apart from these are many new shopping areas being developed in many of Lahore's brand new suburban developments, such as Bahria, Lake City, and the cantonment. While Lahore has a great many traditional and modern restaurants, recent years have seen the appearance of Western fast food chains, such as McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway Sandwiches, Dunkin Donuts, Nando's and Kentucky Fried Chicken all over the city. A recent tourist attraction in Lahore is the famous Food Street in the historic locales of Lahore (Gawaalmandi, Anarkali, and Badshahi).

Some of the trendiest restaurants in Lahore are concentrated on the M M Alam Road in Gulberg.

One of Lahore's unique café restaurants is "Coocoo's Den", located in the old city just behind the Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort.

Transport

Lahore is one of the most accessible cities of Pakistan.

The Pakistan Railways Headquarters is located in Lahore. The Lahore Central Railway Station is also located in the heart of the city, which was built during the British Colonial era.

Sister Cities

Lahore has 5 sister cities:

Fresno, California, USA Istanbul, Turkey Fez, Morocco Mashad, Iran Glasgow, Scotland