The beloved queen of Shah Jahan, Mumtaz may not have lived to witness the realisation of her dream — that is, Sheesh Mahal. But the ‘palace of mirrors’ shall always be associated with her The Lahore Fort has been revealing its secrets to those who seek them. Other than it being a fortress for the Mughal dynasty, it had been their abode of choice, which made them add pleasuring apartments to the magnanimous palace. One such building is the Sheesh Mahal, literally translated as ‘Mirror Palace,’ which was commissioned by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1631 and completed in 1632.
Popular legend has it that Mumtaz Mahal, the beloved queen of Shah Jahan, had a dream one night that she was floating in the air so high that she could touch the stars. Upon awakening, she expressed wistfulness for the ecstasy she had felt in the dream. The answer to that longing was the construction of Sheesh Mahal, within Jehangir’s Quadrangle — the courtyard which houses opulent structures such as the Pari Mahal and Naulakha Pavilion.
As the name suggests, the Sheesh Mahal looks like a building made with finely cut mirrors — the kind we find embedded with embroidery. Though, these mirrors were paired with diamonds, pearls, and precious stones originally.
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