Still in Pakistan, and Lahore was my 2. destination on my Pakistan round-trip, and what a place it is! These are 5 fun facts about Pakistan’s 2nd largest city and also Pakistan’s cultural heart, Lahore.

1. One City, Sixteen Dialects

Lahore is the biggest city of Punjab region, and its commercial hub makes Lahore’s culture ever more colorful since folks from across the province come to work here. At any given time there are more than sixteen different dialects of Punjabi being spoken here including Majhi, Pothohari, Dhani, Shapuri, Jhangochi, Jangli/Rachnavi, Chenavari, Thalochi, Hindko, Chhachi, Jandali, Multani/Saraiki, Derawali, Riasti, Ghebi, Dogri/Darhab. I can’t tell the difference, but I know this place is full of action and colors for sure!

2. More International Flights!

Do you know that Allama Iqbal Airport which is Lahore’s biggest airport handles more than 20,700 international flights each year which are actually more than the domestic flights from Lahore that it manages i.e. 16,700!

3. City Of Gardens

Lahore is the city of gardens. Lahoris love their parks. The bombing at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in March 2016, which killed more than 70 people, struck at the heart of this love. Parks are the few egalitarian spaces left to the poor and the middle-class. I personally really like the atmosphere in the lovely parks, where I can mention the Mughal-era Shalimar Gardens and its disused fountains and the beautiful Bagh-e-Jinnah and its botanical garden. Lahore is clearly the ‘The City Of Gardens,’ in Pakistan.

4. Food Capital of Pakistan

Lahore has long anointed itself the food capital of Pakistan. Punjabi culture is all about food; it’s a fundamentally agrarian society, and the traditions of its Mughal kitchens, as well as the ethnic Punjabis with roots in Kashmir, have left their mark on the city’s food. It’s in Lahore where you can pick up the seemingly odd food pairings of boiled eggs with chickpeas, or naan with pakoras, fried vegetables in a gram flour batter. From dessert to offal, Lahore is the answer to all your food aspirations.

Lahore has a never-ending supply of naan! And don’t forget about the lassi!

5. Lahore, Not LaWhore

Nope, don’t call it LaWhore. You have to use the right pronunciation! Using this nickname means you’re either an overgrown schoolboy, or a bitter Karachi resident. On that note, if that’s you, Lahore actually has a red-light district (dubbed the Diamond Market). This district was originally formed as a neighborhood for the Mughal emperors’ harem, and generations of courtesans worked there until it was banned in the 1950s. As a result, the sex trade spread across the city, but this area is still operating. While the dancers and sex workers only begin work after hours, it’s actually during the day that the district is worth seeing: Shi’ite symbols, men bragging about their political connections, boys glancing at the few women on the streets, and the shuttered windows of the houses where sex workers work their shifts.

I shouldn’t have mentioned number 5 to some of my friends, now they all want to go to Lahore. Anyway, Lahore, (not LaWhore,) is such a beautiful city with magnificent sights! A prosperous cosmopolitan, where every nook, corner, building and street is steeped in history and has a story to tell; all you have to do is step outside. Thanks for this time, Lahore <3

Gustav

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