When you come into a Mohammedan country you always find tiles.  Somehow or another they are associated with Islam.  The Moors were the best tilemakers that ever lived, and gave that art to Spain.  In Morocco today the best modern tiles are found.  The tiles of Constantinople, Damascus, Smyrna, Jerusalem and other cities of Syria and the Ottoman Empire are superior to any you can find outside of Morocco; and throughout Bokhara, Turkestan, Afghanistan and the other Moslem countries of Asia tilemaking has been practiced for ages.  In their invasion of India the Afghans and Tartars brought it with them, and, although the art did not remain permanently so far beyond the border as Delhi, you find it there, in the rest of the Punjab and wherever Mohammedans are in the majority.

Lahore is an ancient city and has many interesting old buildings.  The city itself lies upon the ruins of several predecessors which were destroyed by invaders during the last twelve or fifteen centuries.  There are some fine old mosques and an ancient palace or two, but compared with other Indian capitals it lacks interest.  The most beautiful and attractive of all its buildings is the tomb of Anar Kali (which means pomegranate blossom), a lady of the Emperor Akbar’s harem, who became the sweetheart of Selim, his son.  She was buried alive by order of the jealous father and husband for committing an unpardonable offense, and when Selim became the Emperor Jehanjir he erected this wonderful tomb to her memory.  It is of white marble, and the carvings and mosaic work are very fine.  In striking contrast with it is a vulgar, fantastic temple covered inside and out with convex mirrors.  In the center of the rotunda, upon a raised platform is carved a lotus flower, and around it are eleven similar platforms of smaller size.  The guides tell you that upon these platforms the body of Ranjit Singh, the greatest of the maharajas, was burned in 1839, and his eleven wives were burned alive upon the platforms around him.

The Emperor Jehanjir is buried in a magnificent mausoleum in the center of a walled garden on the bank of the river five miles from Lahore, but his tomb does not compare in beauty or splendor with those at Agra and Delhi.  There is a garden called “The Abode of Love,” about six miles out of town, where everybody drives in the afternoon.  It was laid out by the Mogul Shah Jehan in 1637 for a recreation ground for himself and his sultanas when he visited this part of the empire, and includes about eighty acres of flowers and foliage plants.

Modern Lahore is much more interesting than the ancient city.  The European quarter covers a large area.  The principal street is three miles long, shaded with splendid trees, and on each side of it are the public offices, churches, schools, hotels, clubs and the residences of rich people, which are nearly all commodious bungalows surrounded by groves and gardens.  The native city is a busy bazaar, densely packed with gayly dressed types of all the races of Asia, and is full of dust, filth and smells.  But the people are interesting and the colors are gay.  It is sometimes almost impossible to pass through the crowds that fill the native streets, and whoever enters there must expect to be jostled sometimes by ugly-looking persons.