Ahsan Manzil

Ahsan Manzil was built between 1859 and 1872 as the residence of the Nawab family of Dhaka, a long two-storey building in Indo-Saracenic style painted pink, with a broad flight of steps down to the Buriganga, a wide veranda on both floors and a dome over the centre that is the landmark of the old city waterfront. The family were the leading figures in Dhaka in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the house was the centre of the city's political and social life; a number of decisions that shaped Bengal were taken in its rooms. It was restored in the 1980s and opened as a museum, with about two dozen rooms furnished and displays on the family and the period.

History

In Mughal times Sheikh Enayetullah, zamindar of Jalalpur, had a garden house and a palace called Rang Mahal here, and around 1740 his son sold the property to French traders, who built a trading house beside it. Khwaja Alimullah bought it from the French in 1830 and made the trading house a residence, and his son Khwaja Abdul Ghani named it Ahsan Manzil after his own son, Khwaja Ahsanullah, and had the palace built between 1859 and 1872 to a plan by Martin and Company. A tornado badly damaged it on 7 April 1888, it was repaired again after the earthquake of 1897, the government acquired it in 1952, and after Bangladesh took it over in 1985 it was restored as a museum (Wikipedia, Ahsan Manzil).

What you'll find

• The pink riverfront facade - the long two-storey front above the Buriganga.
• The central dome - the landmark over the old city waterfront.
• Furnished nawabi rooms - about two dozen restored and displayed.
• The river steps - the flight down to the water from the terrace.

When to go

November to March. Two hours. It closes on Thursdays and has restricted Friday hours. Mornings are cooler. The river frontage is best seen from a boat on the Buriganga.

Good to know

The restoration is thorough and much of the interior is reconstruction. Photography inside is restricted. The Buriganga in front is heavily polluted and the smell is noticeable. Old Dhaka traffic makes the approach slow.

Nearby

Sadarghat river port is a short walk; the Star Mosque lies north.

Key facts