The Badshahi Mosque in Lahore

Built by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1673, the Badshahi is the largest Mughal-era mosque and is the second-largest mosque in Pakistan.

Unlike most Mughal Emperors, Aurangzeb was not a great patron of the arts. He spent most of his time focused on military conquests. This mosque was built to commemorate his campaigns in southern India, in particular against the Maratha king Shivaji.

This mosque takes its architectural cues from the Jama Mosque in Delhi (photo below) built by Aurangzeb’s father, Shah Jahan, who in turn took his architectural cues from the Persian style. Both mosques feature red sandstone with white marble inlay.

I first visited in 2018 when I went Lahore to photograph some of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s restoration work in the Walled City. Visiting in the early morning the mosque, crowned by its iconic onion shaped domes, was shrouded in mist with barely a soul in sight.

It was a joy exploring the mosque for an hour or so without anyone around. And equally fascinating to see it start to fill up. I missed seeing the whole courtyard full of people. That would be pretty special, especially from above. Hopefully next time.

The Badshahi Mosque from above

The Badshahi Mosque from above

The entrance to the mosque in the early morning mist

An early morning visit

The walls that form the courtyard where people come to pray

The Badshahi Mosque built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb

The Jama Mosque in Delhi built by Aurangzeb’s father Shah Jahan. You can see the similarities between the two mosques.

A man cleaning the floors before worshippers arrive

A man cleaning the floors before worshippers arrive

On of the beautiful hallways

A man cleaning the floors before worshippers arrive

A man cleaning the floors before worshippers arrive

Worshippers begin to arrive

Praying and reading before the Mihrab

Praying before the Mihrab

Prayers

One of the hallways

Two men at prayer

One of the faithful

One of the faithful, I wish I could remember his name

This kind man gives free lessons to orphans at the mosque

Another shot of the lesson

Two men gaze out at the courtyard

Two men catch up in the courtyard

The entrance later in the day

And in the late afternoon

Sunset over the Badshahi mosque. Shez Raja, a jazz musician got in touch with me to ask if he could use this photo on the front cover of his album, I can’t wait to see it!