Akbari Sarai

The Akbari Sarai is a large saray located in Shahdara Bagh in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was constructed during the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

The name can be translated as "Palace of Akbar". The complex is situated between the tombs of Jahangir and Asif Khan. Abdul Hamid Lahori, who was the court historian of the Emperor Shah Jahan, mentioned the building under the name Jilu Khana-e-Rauza, which means "attached court of the tomb", in his book the Padshahnama.

Maharajah Ranjit Singh converted the complex into a cantonment of one of his foreign generals, Musa Farangi, who used to live here with his platoon.

The Akbari Sarai, along with the Tombs of Jahangir and Asif Khan, are on the tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The open courtyard of the complex is flanked on all sides by a raised terrace where rows of 180 cells are located with a veranda and a common open passage. The corners of the palace are graced by towers.

The palace has two large gateways in the Mughal style, located to the north and to the south. These gates are decorated with frescoes and ghalib kari. The decorative elements, the style of the structure, and the size of the bricks indicate that the palace and the gateways to the tomb could have been constructed at the same time. Apparently parts of a single building complex during Shah Jahan's reign, the palace as indicated by its name was meant for the guards and also as an accommodation for the maintenance staff.

To the west of the palace in the middle of the cell rows is a mosque with three domes. It is clad in red sandstone with decorations. The interior of the mosque was probably once embellished with frescoes andghalib kari too.

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