Just thought i’d put this up.
Lahore’s forgotten palace restored, Paul Anderson, BBC, 11 July 2003
Work has started on restoring a forgotten jewel of Pakistan’s architectural history. The Shish Mahal is the original palace of love - a place whose rooms glitter in a galaxy of light cast by thousands of intricately cut and multi-coloured mirrors. But after centuries of looting, neglect and termite erosion, the Palace of Mirrors is falling down.
Now, with the help of a grant of nearly $1m from the United Nation’s educational and cultural organisation, Unesco, restoration work is underway.
The palace was built in the imposing surroundings of Lahore Fort by the wealthy Moghul emperor Shahjahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. She later died giving birth to her 16th child and the grief-stricken emperor, who unusually took only one wife, built another shrine to love in her memory - the Taj Mahal at Agra in India.
“The Moghuls did things in style,” says Saleem ul Haq, the head of Pakistan’s archaeology department. "Lahore Fort is on the UN’s world heritage list just because of this palace.
“They used strong wooden beams to hang the ceiling of the main hall and then attach all the mirrors in plaster. That’s unique,” he added. Thousands of blue, amber and clear mirrors glitter in the sunlight, producing a dizzying array of reflections.
But Mr ul Haq then climbs the scaffolding holding the ceiling up and points to the source of the problem. Termites have hollowed out the chunky beams, leaving behind detritus which crumbles in his hand.
The team of specialists restoring the palace toil in searing heat. A Norwegian charity has supplied sensitive drills for measuring the depth of decay in the beams and workers labour in cramped, dusty conditions, two at a time. Supporting struts and girders were installed by British engineers in the 1920s, when Pakistan was still part of the empire.
Pakistanis do not normally have much to thank the British for, but on this occasion they do - without them the ceiling would have collapsed long ago.
“We are planning to restore only those parts that have deteriorated because of natural effects, like the weather and ageing process,” Mr ul Haq says. He continues: “When Shahjahan was in the area, he used to bring his wife to Lahore. But we don’t know whether Mumtaz Mahal ever got to see the palace he built for her.”
“She died in either 1631 or 1635 and the palace was finished in 1632. He was heartbroken.”
A story of true romance - which the custodians of Pakistan’s cultural heritage aim to bring to the world.
At the moment, visitors can get close to the palace but not inside. They will have to wait until the end of the year, when the restoration is finished, to see the 17th century marvel close up.
