The sign pictured above is not the kind that a tourist ever expects to see in a “summer palace”!
At the time, technically speaking, our presence was “illegal”; this location was strictly “off-limits”.
After centuries of neglect and decay, this summer palace – a deal of which had sat, “invisibly”, within a huge fort’s external wall – was undergoing a sometimes-hazardous process of meticulous restoration…and “rediscovery”.
The sign was a hazardous site’s warning to its workers.
Our privileged presence was as honoured guests of one of those responsible for its restoration; he quietly informed us that we were certainly the only 21st century tourists to have entered one particular chamber.
The next several chapters of this series will feature various aspects of Lahore Fort – a UNESCO World Heritage Site which covers more than 20 hectares.
It contains 21 “notable monuments” and is almost certain to amaze even the most “well-travelled” visitor.
(as it happens, I have visited many “globally significant” palaces, forts, temples, “ruins” and other “monumental” structures, including the Taj Mahal)
Lahore Fort amazed us, repeatedly.