CHAUBURJI GATEWAY
On the road that led southwards of Lahore, the Chauburji gateway remains of an extensive garden know to have existed in Mughal times. The delicately lofty building standing alone is commonly known as Chaburji because of its four (chau) minarets (burji). The establishment of this garden is attributed to Mughal princes in 1646, which appears in one of the inscriptions on the gateway. The gateway consists of four towers and contain much of the brilliant tile work mostly turquoise colored with which the entire entrance is covered. The red brickwork is typical of the Muslim buildings of the sub-continent; the doorways and windows running through the interior corridors are exemplary of the living style that characterized the Mughal buildings. Originally it was gateway to the Garden of Zebunnisa or Zebinda Begum, the accomplished daughter of Aurangzeb. This garden is believed to have been extended from Nawankot in the south to the main city of Lahore towards north. However, no traces of such an expansive garden are now available. A fragmentary inscription on the eastern archway records that the garden was built in A.H. 1056 i.e. 1646. According to this inscription it was built by Sahib-e-Zebinda (one endowed with elegance), Begum Dauran (the lady of Ages) and was bestowed upon Mian Bai, Fakhrunnisa (the pride of Ladies).