Wazir Khan Mosque

masjid-wazir-khanIt is hidden within the old city and built by the same guy Wazir Khan who built Shahi Hammam in 1634/35 A.D at that time he was a governor, this beautiful mosque is called “The Architectural Ornament Of Lahore”. It is decorated with mosaics and frescoes of infinite variety and colors. Over the entrance is written, “Remove thy heart from the gardens of the world, and know that this building is the true abode of man”. There are two graves, one outside and one inside the mosque. The one inside of that of Miran Shah is is a 14th-century holy man. If the length of the grave is any indication, he must have been an extraordinarily tall man. The outside grave is of Syed Souf.

The glorious Wazir Khan Mosque stands near the Delhi gate of the walled inner city of Lahore. The way in leads through a buzzing bazaar, where the sounds of car horns and haggling voices rise high above the mosque’s walls. Four octagonal minarets mark the corners of the main courtyard, lending the structure balance and adding to its grandeur. As you walk inside from the main entrance, you will find that the main mosque is built from brick and tile, a construction typical of the area and period in which Wazir Khan was created. Each of the mosque’s five compartments is crowned by a dome and opens onto a large courtyard. The one is the centre is the main prayer hall – larger than the rest, it wazir-khanfeatures a high framed portal protruding from the façade, and its walls are covered by intricate frescos. This type of architectural design was employed for the first time in Lahore. Other mosques were built later on using the same construction methods, the most famous of them being the Badshahi Mosque, also located in Lahore.

The Wazir Khan Mosque contains some of the finest examples of mosaic tile work from the Mughal period. Masterful calligraphy verses from the Holy Koran adorn the walls alongside Persian poetry in its elegant forms. Floral designs and patterns emerge in symmetrical, harmonious waves, bringing a sense of tranquility to the mosque’s echoing halls. Its impressive blend of calligraphy, geometrical forms and floral decoration lends a unique dimension to the building’s structure, and makes the Wazir Khan Mosque stand out as a paragon of beauty, balance and grandiosity.