Badshahi Mosque

In the city of Lahore stands a mosque so wide that around 100,000 people can pray in and around it at the same time — the Badshahi, which means 'the Emperor's Mosque'.

It was built in 1673 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and it took only about two years, which is astonishingly fast for something this enormous.

The whole building glows warm red because it is made of sandstone from Rajasthan, topped with three white marble domes that look like giant pearls resting on a red carpet.

The courtyard is the largest mosque courtyard in the world. On Eid mornings it fills with rows and rows of people in bright clothes, and the takbir echoes off the walls.

Right next door is the old Lahore Fort and a peaceful garden, so families often spend the whole day there — prayer, then picnic, then watching the domes turn pink at sunset.