In Pakistan, there's a saying in the city Lahore – Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya O Jamyai Nai – meaning one who hasn’t seen Lahore simply hasn’t lived. It expresses the pride Lahoris have for their city, which is also known as 'The Paris of the East'
A thread on the beauty of Lahore…
1/ Badshahi Mosque, Lahore
Built in 1673, this Mughal-era congregational mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled City of Lahore, and is widely considered to be one of Lahore's most iconic landmarks
2/ Badshahi Mosque Minaret
3/ Fort Road Food Street, Lahore
You haven’t eaten until you’ve been to Lahore. If the gastronomes of the Mughal Empire were used to over-the-top meals, Lahore’s modern-day residents are no less demanding.
4/ Sheesh Mahal, Lahore
The Sheesh Mahal is a palace located within the Shah Burj block in northern-western corner of Lahore Fort. It was constructed under the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1631–32, with some additions later under Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
5/ Colourful Rickshaw on the old streets of Lahore, outside Wazir Khan Mosque
6/ A walk to Wazir Khan Mosque, Lahore
The construction began in 1634 C.E. & completed in 1641. Considered to be the most ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque it is renowned for its intricate faience tile work known as kashi-kari, as well as embellished frescoes
7/ Beautiful frescoes on the walls of Wazir Khan Mosque
8/ The botanical mastery of Wazir Khan mosque
Credit @Mobeen_Ansari
@Mobeen_Ansari 9/ Lahore Fort
Built in 1566, Lahore Fort is a citadel in the city. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than 20 hectares. It contains 21 notable monuments, some of which date to the era of Emperor Akbar
@Mobeen_Ansari 10/ A walk through Badshahi Mosque & Lahore Fort
One of six remaining historic gates of the Walled City of Lahore, Pakistan. Delhi Gate & the adjacent Shahi Hammam were restored in 2015 by the @aghakhancultural
12/ Shahi Hammam, Lahore
Built in 1635, it is located within the Walled City of Lahore. It consisted of hot, warm, cool plunges, sweat rooms & related facilities. It has 21 inter-connected rooms. An additional room is set at an angle facing Makkah & was used as a prayer room
13/ Colourful Truck
Lahore’s colourful, ornate trucks rumbling down roads & highways is a very common sight, & a dominant part of the country’s identity. Pakistani truck art is more than just cultural expression, it’s also a deeply rooted tradition
14/ Fakir Khana, Lahore
Private museum of the Fakir Family of Lahore. It is one of the largest private museums in South Asia. Considered a hidden treasure of art: paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, Chinese porcelain, Persian carpets and more @androon_lahore
@androon_lahore 15/ A spice stall in Lahore’s famous markets
@androon_lahore 16/ Pakistani Truck at night on the streets of Lahore
@androon_lahore 17/ The streets of Lahore
@androon_lahore 18/ Lahore Museum
Founded in 1865 at a smaller location and opened in 1894 at its current location on The Mall in Lahore during the British colonial period, Lahore Museum is Pakistan's largest museum, as well as one of its most visited ones
@androon_lahore 19/ Lahore is renowned for its textiles. A fabric stall in Lahore’s famous markets
A public library in located within the Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The library was constructed in the mid 19th century during the British Raj comprises of Victorian era Lawrence and Montgomery Halls
@androon_lahore 23/ Gol Gappa in Lahore
Bursting with tons of flavors and textures, gol gappa is a popular street snack from the Indian subcontinent that locals love to munch on regardless of the time of the day. It’s much loved by Lahoris
@androon_lahore 24/ Beautiful Old Vibes at Delhi Gate Androon Lahore
@androon_lahore Want to explore Islamic heritage through the art of the city?
Join us for a fascinating and unique online event, "The City as Art: Islamic Archaeology & Heritage."
August 15
1:00 - 2:30pm BST
Online
If you can’t attend live, all ticket holders receive a recording of the… https://t.co/LLkPtiO5awtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
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In Islam, Hajj is the annual pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, the ‘House of God’ in the city of Mecca. The Kaaba is covered in a Kiswah — a black silk cloth, exquisitely embroidered in gold
Every year, artisans work on creating a new Kiswah
A thread on the art of making the Kiswah
1/ The Kiswah is the cloth that covers the Kaaba. The term Kiswah means ‘robe’ & is also known as the ‘Ghilaf’. Hanging the Kiswah, a huge piece of black silk embroidered with gold patterns & verses from the Quran, over the Kaaba symbolises the start of the Hajj pilgrimage season
2/ Meaning cube in Arabic, the Kaaba is a square building unlike almost any other religious structure. It is fifteen meters tall and ten and a half meters on each side; its corners roughly align with the cardinal directions.
‘Traveling leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller’
- Ibn Battuta
The most famous explorer in the Muslim World, Ibn Battuta, travelled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history - around 117,000 km!
A thread on the 14th century explorer Ibn Battuta…
1/ Ibn Battuta was born in 1304 CE in Tangier, Morocco. His travelogue the Rihla is his most important work. His journeys in the Rihla lasted for a period of almost thirty years, covering nearly the whole of the known Islamic world & beyond.
2/ Ibn Battuta travelled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history, surpassing Zheng He with 50,000 km (31,000 mi) and Marco Polo with 24,000 km. His total distance travelled was approximately 117,000 km (73,000 mi) (15,000 mi).
The Qur’an was first revealed during the month of Ramadan. This blessed month is also known by Muslims as the month of Fasting
To celebrate the arrival of #Ramadan here are 24 beautiful Qur’anic manuscripts found in museum collections across the world #RamadanMubarak
A thread…
1/ Folio from a Manuscript of the Qur'an
Iran, Shiraz, 1550-1575
Ink, colors and gold on paper
@LACMA #Ramadan
@LACMA 2/ Double Folio from a Qur'an
c. 1330-1350, Central Asian or Turkish
Early Muslim settlers from central and western Asia carried Islamic book traditions into India, especially in the form of Qur'ans, such as the one from which these pages come
Shah-i-Zinda is one Samarkand’s most beloved sites, which contains some of the richest tile work in the world. The magnificent architecture draws inspiration from multiple periods & styles, taking you back through time & across cultures
A thread on the beauty of Shah-i-Zinda…
1/ The Shah-i-Zinda ensemble includes mausoleums, mosques & other ritual buildings of 11-15th & 19th centuries. The name Shah-i-Zinda (meaning The living king) is connected with the legend that Qutham ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH is buried here
📷 Ash Diler
2/ Shah-i-Zinda is a world-famous example of a continuously constructed historical site. Over 1,000 years ago, it was founded with a single religious monument. Between the 11th & 19th centuries, mosques & mausoleums were continuously added
From Spain to Azerbaijan, to Germany to Bosnia, Europe has some of the finest mosques.
The presence of Islam in Europe is not a new phenomenon, with Muslims residing in the continent as early as the 8th century.
Here are 24 mosques across Europe #JummahMubarak
A thread…
1/ Koski Mehmed-Pasha Mosque, Mostar, Bosnia
Dates back to 1617 & features numerous multicolored windows, a minaret with a lookout spot & a courtyard with several tombs. Although the original Ottoman mosque was heavily damaged during the attacks of the 1990s it has been restored
2/ The Shah Jahan Mosque, Woking, England
This is the first purpose built mosque that was built in the UK.
It was built in 1889 by Dr Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, an orientalist of Jewish descent from Hungary. Money was donated by Begum Shah Jahan, the Nawab Begum of Bhopal.
Welcome to Al-Mutanabbi Street the ‘Book Market of Baghdad’, where books remain in the street at night because Iraqis say:
“The reader does not steal and the thief does not read.”
A thread on the rich heritage of the historic book market on Al-Mutanabbi Street…
1/ Al-Mutanabbi Street is the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, that dates back to the time of the Abbasids. Located near the old quarter of Baghdad, Al-Mutanabbi Street was Baghdad’s first book traders’ market.
2/ Al-Mutanabbi Street has been, since time immemorial, the historic heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community.