What is now a national museum, Ahsan Manzil was once a beautiful residential palace.

The location of the glorious building is along the banks of the River Buriganga in Dhaka.

The Ahsan Manzil Palace is famous for its pinkish colour. Hence people are familiar with this site also by the name of Pink Palace.

The pink tone of the palace is what makes it so distinctive. The building work of the palace began in 1859, completing the enormous job in 1872.

The elegant design of the building has an Indo-Saracenic Architectural style.

In the Mughal era, Sheikh Inayat Ullah (1843-1846), the landowner of this place built this site amongst a big area covering his summer house.

Sheikh apparently had placed beautiful girls around the nation, dressed in lavish clothing for his pleasure.

But there are reports that the Emperor of Dhaka had fallen in love with one of the girls that Sheikh Enayat had housed.

So in an effort to pursue his love, the Emperor invited the Sheikh to a staged party and murdered him.

Sadly, the girl was filled with sorrow and guilt and committed suicide out of anger, leaving the Emperor to face the consequences.

The remains of Sheikh’s grave can be found in the north-west of the courtyard, which was mostly ruined in the 20th century.

In 1985, the building was acquired by the government of Bangladesh and since then has been renovated.