| Taxali Gate Semetery |
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| Photo by Maria Suffolk |
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| Outside Taxali Gate Cemetery |
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| Photo by Maria Suffolk |
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| View of Taxali Gate Cemetery |
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| Photo by Maria Suffolk |
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| Old Plan of Taxali Gate Cemetery |
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| Photo by Maria Suffolk |
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Taxali Gate Cemetery by Dennis Norris
Many theories exist regarding the origin of the name of this West Side Lahore City Gate. Some believe it was the present of Taxal, the royal mint in this area, that gave the gate its name. Others trace its origin to Taxila, and yet others feel the gate owes its name to “Takas”, who were once the great overlords of Punjab and who still exist in the hills between the Jhelum and Ravi Rivers.
The cemetery is opposite. The oldest gravestones seem to be early 1800. The are no cemetery records available at the cemetery though possibly the remains of the original records are held by the R.C. Cathedral. But the records would not help as the plots (squares) cannot be defined accurately today: most graves have been desecrated. This cemetery is in a very sad condition. The gate house to the cemetery has two wall tablets, giving a map and instructions to reverence
The setting is close to the center of Lahore. The Badshahi Mosque domes and minarets can be clearly seen from there. In the days of the 1800s, the graveyard was outside the City Wall but for the most part the wall has now gone and the cemetery seems so close to the center of things, indeed of Lahire history, for the Fort and Old City are just over the road. Many armies have tramped between the cemetery and the City Wall and British soldiers were billeted in the fort.
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