Lahore is the only city in Pakistan worth spending multiple days in. It was one of the capitals of the Mughals, and it shows it. You can find wonderful treasures even on its outskirts, such as these Mughal-era buildings. They lie in what nowadays is a poor neighbourhood and we met several begging Afghani children outside the gates.

The first impression of this site is great: the striking red monumental gate decorated with pietra dura to enter the Akbari Sarai compound, the Safavid-inspired ‘throned’ mausoleum to the Mughal emperor Jahangir and his ‘tomb’ (actually a cenotaph, his remains are in a crypt underneath) inside which is a masterpiece of marble and precious stones. When you walk to the outer grounds near the other tombs, the state of conservation of it all severely deteriorates both due to contemporary vandalism and earlier destruction. Only a few remaining glazed tiles of once colourful muqarnas can be seen in the domed structures.

Two stories need to be told here: the link with the Taj Mahal and the destruction by the Sikhs.

• One of the tombs (upper photo) is of Asif Khan, who was the father of the person we know as Mumtaz Mahal – emperor Shah Jahan’s wife who is buried in the Taj Mahal. Asif Khan was the Grand Vizier (similar to a prime minister) during the reign of Shah Jahan. Asif Khan was also the brother of Nur Jahan, who was the chief consort of emperor Jahangir (both buried at this complex as well). So this is a burial place for some very high-ranked Mughals!
• At all sites in Lahore, you will hear stories of destruction by the Sikhs. They took over the city in the late 18th century from the Mughals, looting marble and other valuable elements from its monuments and taking the valuables to decorate the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The damage probably is the clearest seen at the formidable tomb of Jahangir (lower photo), where many precious stones that were part of the design are missing or have been replaced by cheaper ones. Few Sikhs remain in Pakistan (we saw some in Peshawar), but border corridors have opened for Indian Sikhs to visit for example their holy temple in Lahore. They arrive on buses escorted by a police convoy (we once had to wait for 25 of them to pass in Lahore’s streets!).