Lahore has been the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province for at least a thousand years and yet its origins are shrouded in legend. Some stories say it was named after Loh, the son of Rama – hero of the epic Ramayana. It is today a city of parks and gardens. A busy but beautiful metropolis that reflects the verdant richness of Punjab, a province that flourished through widespread irrigation – evidence of which can be seen in Lahore’s canal system. This part of the world has seen civilizations come and go – from the Aryans, to Alexander the Great. During the 16th and 17th centuries it was the Moghals who ruled supreme. The Moghals brought Islam with them along with a great legacy of architecture and culture. It’s a tangle of tiny streets, the ancient and the new, but if you want to imagine Lahore in Moghal times, the old city brings it to life The Moghals were ousted by the British who ruled the subcontinent until the 20th century. Lahore’s downtown is home to numerous colonial buildings – many of them magnificent structures. Colleges, courthouses and churches
