Lahore Fort

The massive walls of Lahore Fort, built by Akbar in the 1560s, tower over the old city of Lahore, and the huge rectangle they define, 380 by 330 meters (1,250 by 1,080 feet), is filled with buildings from a variety of periods. A complete tour of the fort takes about two hours. The entrance to the fort is through Alamgiri Gate The inscription outside the Fort tells that Jehangir built it in 1618.Although the Delhi and Lahori gate bazaars were major processionals, the royal retinue most commonly entered via gates close to the fort. The walled city was the social center of Lahore and the center of its regional culture, but the fort was the political center of Lahore and at least at times the center of its Imperial Mughal culture.It is not until one moves behind the Diwan-i Am-O-Khas and adjacent buildings, that one enters the garden quadrangles of Lahore Fort. At first glance, these courtyards seem to represent yet another garden type. They have limited plantings, and one of them has no plants at all. Some are rectangular, while others have irregular dimensions.