Pakistan » Lahore

Lahore is a major city of Pakistan and is the capital of the province of Punjab. A native of Lahore is called a Lahori. It is located near the river Ravi and the Indian border. Lahore is estimated to have approximately 6.5 million inhabitants. This makes it the second largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi. It is considered to be one of the thirty largest cities of the world.

Punjabi is the language of the province, and is the most widely spoken language in Lahore. Punjabi spoken by the people of Lahore is known as Lahori Punjabi due to a mixture of Punjabi and colloquial Urdu spoken in Lahore. Lahore is largely thought of as the cultural centre of Pakistan ever since its accession by the Mughal Empire since the 16th century CE. This is apparent by the vast array of historic buildings, architecture from pre-Mughal, Mughal and British periods, and cultural events held throughout the year. 

The recently renovated Data Durbar of Hazrat Syed Abul Hassan Bin Usman Bin Ali Al-Hajweri, is perhaps the most famous example of architecture from pre-Mughal times. Mughal architecture can be seen in the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens. Various buildings originally built by the British (such as the Lahore High Court) still retain their Mughal-Gothic style.