Akbari Mandi - Old Bazaar of Lahore

The 'Akbari gate', the most beautiful gate of lahore. Close to this gate the Emperor also founded a market 'Akbari Mandi'. The market was named after the name of Mughal Emperor Akbar, the great. It is also said that this market is of Akbar’s Period and so holds historical importance. Akbari Mandi is the whole sale market of grains, spices, herbs and chemicals. It is claimed that this market is one of the largest spice & grain markets in Asia. 

Akbari Mandi usually opens at 11:00 AM and closes late at night. The market has almost 800 shops selling over 1100 items, out of which over 1000 items are of 'Pansaar' and about 100 items that of 'Grains'. Traders of the market claimed that its turn over was about Rs 500 million per day.

Akbari Mandi View

Major Issue

Traffic jams, accumulated sewer water on the roads, tangled electricity and telephone wires, no space for parking and unhygienic atmosphere, are the main featureless of the city’s biggest grain market, Akbari Mandi.

1. Parking Problem

The major issue being faced by the visitors of the market is that there is no proper parking place for them in or around the market. The only place available for parking outside the market is the Circular Road and the market traders used to park their vehicles along the road. Following the lack of parking, the visitors are forced to park their vehicles away from the market.

2. Narrow Lanes

It is very difficult to enter the market for the visitors, especially the new comers because of permanent traffic blockage. Only 'Hath Gari' and 'Yakka' is allowed to enter the market during the business hours. Shopkeepers also display their items in front of their shop during the business hours.

A shopkeeper said in an interview that it was very difficult for them to maintain their business in the market due to narrow lanes where even pedestrian faced problems while walking. He added that residents of Akbari Mandi also faced serious problems to carry out a Janaza from within the market during the business hours.

3. Residence Area

The old residents of the area said that some 20 years back most of the shopkeepers illegally occupied the market road, 6 to 8 fit from both sides of the road due to which the pavements on the both sides of the market road vanished. Vice-Chairman of Akbari Mandi Trader Union, Haji Ghulam Mustafa said that he had been doing business in Akbari Mandi since he was 16 years old. He Said

At that time, only a few shops of grain, jewellery and beverages were located in Akbari Gate and interestingly only two Muslims had there own shops while the rest were owned by Hindus 

He said, after partition, Muslims occupied the market and Akbari Mandi gradually became the biggest market of grains and food items in Punjab. He said, for the last 3 to 4 years, Akbari Mandi had been losing its visitors due to various problems.

4. Sanitation System

A shopkeeper said, both the market roads and sanitation system were very poor. Excreta of animals could be witness everywhere in the market where food items were being sold. He said animal excreta and leftovers of grains and other food items went into the open drains in the market, resulting in its choking.

5. Rainy Season

The rainy season creates a serious mess in the market because all the market roads are submerged in rainwater mixed with the filthy sewer water.

6. No Godown facility

There is no godown facility for the shopkeepers due to which they had to hire different places outside the market to store their stocks.

Akbari Mandi Union president Mehboob Anwar Bobby said Akbari Mandi was the largest grain market of Pakistan. He said the underground water pipes were in awful condition and required immediate repair. He claimed that more than 70 percent of the local residents had shifted from the market and at present 30 to 40 percent, shops were available on rent. 

Reference:

• http://www.pakrealestatetimes.com/showthread.php?tid=919
• http://www.walledcitylahore.gop.pk/index.php/tourist-sites/78-wcl-articles/135-akbari-mandi

You can discover more bazzars and many more places of Lahore city on Locally Lahore App. Locally Lahore is a must have App, which allows you to explore Lahore and it covers up your all point of interest. It gives you information about latest events and happenings in Lahore.

Download Locally Lahore Android & iPhone App. Join locally lahore on G+ and Facebook to get in touch with the latest information and events of Lahore.

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Posted by Anonymousa at Tuesday, April 21, 2015 0 comments

The Shahi Hamam

The Shahi Hamam which is an important landmark of ‘Old Lahore’ is located right inside Delhi Gate. It has a small gate as its entrance on the left side, right after you’re inside Delhi Gate, in the Shahi Guzargah. 

Commonly known as Shahi Hamam was built by Wazir Khan during the times of Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan by the Governor of Lahore, Sheikh Ilmuddin Ansari, in 1634. It was meant for Jahangir's consort. The Shahi Hamam, as it is commonly referred to, was probably used by royal travellers to bath and freshen up before walking to the Wazir Khan Mosque for their prayers.

Mughal Era, Shahi Hamam

Architecture

The single-storey structure is spread over 1,110 square feet and was built using brick tiles and limestone cement. It contains the world's largest Mughal fresco painting. The building is a combination of Turkish and Persian style. It reminds one of the traditional Persian hamams which are still vogue in Iran.This building with beautiful paintings has three types of bathing facilities such as cold, hot and steam bath. 

                                                     Inside Shahi Hamam

The Hamam had 21 rooms, eight with marble pools were used for fresh water baths, other eight were for hot water baths, while five rooms were steam baths which were built on the style of Turkish baths. There were special rooms where the bathers would lavish themselves and servants would scrub and oil them to enhance their beauty. On one side the water would pass through a series of revolving brass pipes, under which log fires would heat them. A portion of the water also flowed towards another sets of brass pipes, under which fires would convert them into steam.

The Hamam had a special ‘female sections’ which also had similar facilities, managed by special female staff. The heating chambers and the water pumping section were destroyed in the initial days of Sikh rule. The British did not bother much to redeem them. Instead, they fitted in the bathing and swimming pools to convert them into living quarters.

Shahi Hamam Architecture

The Hamam was neglected and left to be ruined after the fall of the Mughal Empire.

In the initial rule of Nawaz Sharif year 1991, an attempt was made to restore the Hamam, but the damage had been so extensive, that unless a massive investment was made, there seemed no hope of it being restored. Since then many plans were prepared to restore Shahi Hamam. Much of Shahi Hamam’s exterior had been encroached upon. Many damages had been made to the interior such as the floor of Shahi Hamam had been repaired many times in an effort to equalize it with the outer side due to which original floor and fountains were buried beneath. Moreover the seepage had caused disaster to the walls and fresco work on the walls.

WCLA , as per the resettlement action plan , has taken a bold step to remove all the encroachments made around Shahi Hamam. Documentation of Shahi Hamam is in Progress while the following is in the future plan:

• To repair the decayed parts of northern and western sides of Shahi Hamam with standard size bricks.
• Repair work of Western parapet and its pointing.
• Repair work of three northern cells of Shahi Hamam and digging out the original floor.

Reference:

• http://weeklypulse.org/details.aspx?contentID=4425&storylist=4
• http://www.walledcitylahore.gop.pk/index.php/tourist-sites/79-wcl-articles/tourist-sites/93-the-shahi-hamam

You can discover more historical and interesting places of Lahore city on Locally Lahore. Locally Lahore is a must have App, which allows you to explore Lahore and it covers up all point of interest. It gives you information about latest events and happenings in Lahore. 

Download Locally Lahore Android & iPhone App. Join locally lahore on G+ and Facebook to get in touch with the latest information and events of Lahore.

Find out more information of Locally Lahore App on www.locallylahore.com

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Posted by Anonymousa at Friday, April 17, 2015 1 comments