HOMESTAYS IN THE WALLED CITY Boutique hotels animating the Mughal-era lifestyle of the privileged elite allow tourists to only penetrate the heritage of Old Lahore on a very shallow surface. An alternative approach is the concept of homestays with the local inhabitants of the Walled City. (Lynch 2005) defines homestays as a specialist term referring to types of accommodation where tourists or guests pay to stay in private homes, where interaction takes place with a host or the family usually living upon the premises, and with whom public space is, to a degree, shared. Imagine lodging in the humble abode of a local, inhabiting a portion of a grand haveli (traditional mansion) for generations. The haveli encloses a courtyard with a shabby fountain that no longer functions and is shared by multiple families. The accommodation is simple, and the amenities modest. However, the world is real, full of stories of everyday life, and personalized knowledge only accumulated through living first-hand in the Walled City. Homestays not only provide an opportunity for the locals to showcase their prided hospitality, but also allow women primarily occupied in household commitments to generate income and experience cultural diversity.
The Utopian Palimpsest
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