LAHORE: Istanbul Chowk, located in the heart of Lahore, has added colours to the already rich architecture of Pakistan’s cultural hub in recent years.
Inaugurated in November 2015 by Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish ambassador to Pakistan Sadik Babur Gurkin, the newly beautified square is referred as “celebrating the friendship between Pakistan and Turkey”.
The new structure is designed by a group of famous Pakistani architects from Lahore College of Arts, Punjab University, and University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore.
The idea was conceived in 2012 during the visit of Istanbul’s Mayor Kadir Topbas amid an ever increasing partnership between the two countries in several sectors.
To keep the tradition alive, the design contains a pole with hundreds of bird houses erected in the middle of the square.
“Before this (structure), a model boat was placed here, and we, even being locals, didn’t know the name of this place,” Mohammad Asif, a local resident, who now frequently visits the site to feed pigeons, told Anadolu Agency.
The new design, he observed, has changed the atmosphere here.
“Istanbul is not a new name to us. We have been familiar with this city since our childhood. We read about Ataturk and Istanbul in our course books,” Asif recalled.
Allah Ditta, another resident of Lahore, noted that the new structure had given a pleasant look to the entire locality.
“It was a dull place before. I would not even bother to look at whenever I passed by”, Ditta, sitting on a bench under the shadow of an old tree and enjoying a pleasant evening, told the Agency.
Several Turkish government and private agencies have been assisting Pakistan, mainly in Punjab, in health, education, energy and transport sectors, the agency reported.
“This (Istanbul Square) is not only a symbol of Pak-Turkey friendship but also a beautiful addition to Lahore’s already rich culture and architecture”, Lahore Mayor Mubasshir Javed told Anadolu Agency.
“Istanbul is not only one of the beautiful cities in the world but also Lahore’s sister city. That’s why we chose the centre of the city to name after Istanbul,” he added.
Lahore and Istanbul were declared sister-cities in 1975.
Istanbul Chowk is not the only structure carrying a Turkish identity in Lahore. The city government has already named two bridges after former President Abdullah Gul, and a road after Mayor of Istanbul in Lahore, the country’s second largest city after Karachi.
Straddled between the new and the original “walled” Lahore, Istanbul Chowk connects the two different cultures in one city. In its north, located is the city’s main Town Hall, the headquarters of city government, the prestigious National College of Arts, Punjab University Old Campus, and glitzy Mall Road.
In the south, it borders the original walled city comprising 12 gates (entrance to old Lahore), where the atmosphere is completely different to new or northern Lahore peppered with towering skyscrapers, sprawling buildings, and glitzy neon-signs.
Narrow stone streets, mostly consisting of old styled wooden and brick houses with hanging balconies in a bit haphazard way, present a different look to an outsider.
Historical Nasir Bagh, the Lahore’s hub of political protests and gatherings is barely 50 meters from Istanbul Chowk towards east. The western side of the square leads to the imposing building of over a century-old Government College Lahore, one of the prestigious educational institutes of the city.
“You just cross either side of the Istanbul Chowk and you will explore a new colour of my Lahore, for which we say ‘Lahore Lahore ay’ ( Lahore is simply Lahore)” Mohammad Saeed, a huqqa (traditional smoking pipe) seller at Bhaati Gate, one of the 12 gates of walled city, told the agency.