- Hiran Minar
Hiran Minar is set in peaceful environs near Lahore in
Sheikhupura ,Pakistan . It was constructed byEmperor Jehangir as a monument to Mansraj, one of his petdeer sThe structure consists of a large, almost-square water tank with an octagonal pavilion in its center, built during the reign of Mughal emperor
Shah Jahan ; a causeway with its own gateway connects the pavilion with the mainland and a convert|100|ft|m|sing=on-high minar, or minaret.At the center of each side of the tank, a brick ramp slopes down to the water, providing access for royal animals and wild game. The minar itself was built by
Emperor Jahangir in 1606 to honor the memory of a pet hunting antelope named Mansraj.Unique features of this particular complex are the antelope's grave and the distinctive water collection system. At each corner of the tank (approximately 750 by convert|895|ft|m in size), is a small, square building and a subsurface water collection system which supplied the tank; only one of these water systems is extensively exposed today.
Another special feature of Hiran Minar is its location and environment: the top of the minar is perhaps the best place in the province of Punjab to get a feel for the broader landscape and its relationship to a Mughal site.
Looking north from the top of the minar, one can see a patch of forest which is similar to the scrub forest vegetation of Mughal times, while to the west are extensively-irrigated fields, a product of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but similar in size and appearance to the well-irrigated fields of the Mughal period.
External links
* [http://travel.webshots.com/album/553553059ATtJOx Photographs Of Hiran Minar]
* [http://www.pbase.com/zahid_niaz/hiran_minar Images of the Hiran Minar]
* [http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1281/ UNESCO World Heritage: Hiran Minar and Tank, Sheikhupura]
* [http://www.mughalgardens.org/html/sheikhupura_hiran.html More information about the structure]
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