An idle oil mill that powered by a bullock that was taking a rest (back-left).
An old Sikh-era building that is now a school.
Shaved ice.
Pink balloon.
At
Fakir Khana, a private museum and house owned by the Fakir family. The family settled in Lahore around 1730 and first opened their house as a museum to the public in 1901.
The large and beautiful house in which the museum is located offer an insight into the lifestyles of upper class Lahori families during the Sikh and British eras.
The museum was holding an exhibition of contemporary artwork curated from local artists.
I Was There by Ali Baba. A work made from a plaster mold of the artist.
Borrowed View by Ahmed Faizan Naveed. The natural light shining through the broken glass was quite simple but beguiling.
Dried Onion by Mohsin Shafi consisted of small glass vessels with corks holding the artists toenails collected over a year.
A Delivery Of Anonymous Flowers by Maha Ahmed with a pile on the ground of small boxes made from black paper.
Amalgamate by Affan Baghpati, with repurposed brass kitchen implements. I was too polite to ask what these symbolised.
Confessions of a Secret Lover by Mohsin Shafi is a collection of ten stolen items from 2006 to 2016.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger by Aamir Habib.
Qissa by Saud Baloch.
New Lords Make New Laws by Aakif Suri. Hanging in the museum courtyard, it resembled the vertebra and rib cage of a large serpent!
Coca-Cola. After the very interesting visit to
Fakir Khana museum we headed back outside to continue our trek through the
Walled City.
And at the end of our walking tour through the Old City where we said farewell to Khalid and thanked him for the very interesting past 2 hours.
We then headed out of Lahore on the ring road and towards the Wagah border with India.
After arriving just before 2pm we were luckily almost first in queue today. Ghulam chatted to the border police and they said that people started arriving yesterday on Pakistan Day at 11am so even if we had been an hour or two earlier we wouldn't have likely been able to see the ceremony.
Looking up at the massive flag of Pakistan.
The national flag on the Indian side of the border atop of a 110 metre tall flag pole. After India erected the tallest flagpole in the country, Pakistan soon followed with a flagpole with a height of 122 metres.
Some people with diplomatic passports crossing the border from Pakistan into India. We also saw some tourists making the opposite journey into Pakistan.
The crowd in the stadium starting to get riled up with patriotic music being played at high volume and accompanied by chants of
Allahu Akbar (God is great) and
Pakistan Zindabad (Long live Pakistan).
The ceremony has taken place every evening before sunset since 1959, with the border crossing being the only road link between the two countries up until 1999.
The crowd on the Indian side of the border where loud music and similar chants could be heard.
The VIP's making their way to their seats just after 5pm. As it was Pakistan Day weekend the front seating was reserved for the families of military officers.
A large portrait of
Muhammad Ali Jinnah above members of the
Pakistan Rangers in their distinctive black uniform.
A little boy in the crowd who was slightly overwhelmed by all the excitement.
A trio of Rangers marching out as the ceremony commenced.
And lifting their feet up to a theatrical heights as they reach the main gate.
The crowds locking all the drama and grandiosity of the spectacle.
The rest of the very tall Pakistan Rangers marching out.
An equally tall and energetic border guard leading the response on the Indian side.
One of the Rangers getting a reaction from an Indian border guard as he stomps his right foot down on the border.
The Indian
Border Security Force marching out reinforcements.
Both sides exchanging in some final gesticulating and theatrics.
The flags on both sides were then slowly lowered.
The Pakistan Rangers marching back with the now folded flag of Pakistan.
And more super energetic boot stomping as the gates are closed one last time.
The second act by the Pakistan Rangers about to start.
Normally the ceremony would now be finished but as it was Pakistan Day Weekend we were treated to a very polished and impressive marching display.
And some aerial rifle drills!
Passing by some of the guards as we made our way out of the stadium.
Walking through the crowds back to the car as dusk begins to fall.
And back in Lahore as we make our way through rush hour traffic.
We then began the long drive to Islamabad.
After a couple of hours we stopped at a road side restaurant.
With some fresh bread, vegetables and stew for dinner.
And the obligatory sweet tea to finish.
Arriving on the outskirts of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
And in my room at the Envoy Hotel just after midnight where I promptly crashed out after a long but exciting day.
