The Shalamar/Shalimar Gardens, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
The Shalamar Gardens, also known in English as the Shalimar Gardens, are a Mughal garden complex located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The gardens date from the period when the Mughal Empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith, and are now one of Pakistan's most popular tourist destinations. The gardens were laid out as a Persian paradise garden intended to create a representation of an earthly utopia in which humans co-exist in perfect harmony with all elements of nature. Construction of the gardens began in 1641 during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, and was completed in 1642. In 1981 the Shalamar Gardens were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as they embody Mughal garden design at the apogee of its development. Lahore's Shalamar Gardens were built by the Mughal royal family primarily as a venue for them to entertain guests, though a large portion was open to the general public. The gardens' design was influenced by the older Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir that were built by Shah Jahan's father, Emperor Jahangir. Unlike the gardens in Kashmir which relied on naturally sloping landscapes, the waterworks in Lahore required extensive engineering to create artificial cascades and terraces. The Shalamar Gardens were designed as a Persian-style Charbagh "Paradise garden" -a microcosm of an earthly utopia. Though the word Bagh is translated simply as "garden, bagh represents a harmonious existence between humans and nature, and represents a poetic connection between heaven and earth. All natural elements of the bagh are appreciated - including the sun, moon, and air. Muhammad Saleh Kamboh, historian to Shah Jahan, reported that the gardens of Kashmir inspired the design for the Shalamar Garden in Lahore, and that a wide variety of trees and flowers grew together in the garden.
Size: 7360px × 4912px
Location: Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Photo credit: © François-Olivier Dommergues / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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