AHSAN MANZIL
About 600m west of sadarghat is the must-see
Ahsan Manzil (pink place; Ahsanullah Rd; admison TK 2 10.30am-5.30pm Sat-Wed,3-7.30pm Fri Apr-Sep,9.30am-4.30pm Sat–Wed, 3-7.30pm Fri Oct-Mar), one of the most interesting buildings in Dhaka.
Dating from 1872, Ahsan Manzil was built on the site of an old French factory by Nawab Abdul Gahni (landowner). Some 16 years after the place’s construction, it was damaged by a tornado. It was altered during restoration, becoming even grander than before. Lord Curzon stayed here whenever he came to visit. After the death of the nawab and his son, the family fortune was dispersed and the place eventually fell into disrepair. It was saved from oblivion by massive restoration in the late 1980s, aided by photos of each of the 23 rooms, taken during the high point of the palace’s history. The photos are still on display as are various family portraits and the skull of Nawab Abdul Ghanis’s favourite elephant, Feroz Jung.
0 comments:
Post a Comment