CHAH MIRAN LAHORE: LAND OF HAZRAT MIRAN HUSSAIN ZANJANI

Abstract

Historic walled cities are recognized with its context and urban environment and old cities are associated with specific places, personalities and events, identifying their architectural values and rituals. The core objective of this research is the identification and protection of historic areas outside the city walls maintaining the legitimacy of historic environment. One of the remarkable example is historic city of Lahore with its neighborhood districts. Various type of observatory surveys has been conducted to visualize the impacts of urbanization on the historic environment of the selected case study “Chah Miran” which was populated due to a saint Hazrat Miran Hussain Zanjani and is termed as Land of Miran. Selected area is one of the oldest neighborhood districts of Mughal Lahore and the most significant landmarks are “Khui Miran” and “Shrine of Hazrat Miran Hussain Zanjani”. Rapid urbanization changed the historic urban landscape and provision of modern needs created jumble of shops due to the increasing commercial activities. In the result of these interventions, traditional activities transformed in the commercial activities. There is a need to identify and conserve the historic monuments in these historic districts for the study of future generations being part of the historic core of Lahore. Keywords: Urban activities, Neighborhood districts, Historic environment, Chah Miran, Miran Hussain Zanjani.