Postcard from Noor Mahal, Palace of Light, Bahawalpur

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Apr 9

If you visit Multan, then a day trip to Bahawalpur is a must.

Bahawalpur was formerly a princely state, ruled by the Abbasi family until 1955. Bahawalpur was founded in 1727 by Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi. Nawab is a royal title, comparable to a prince. On 22 February 1833, Abbasi formed an alliance with the British and so Bahawalpur become a princely state of British India. When India became independent in 1947 Bahawalpur joined Pakistan and in 1955 it became a province of Pakistan.

We started our day with a visit to Noor Mahal, also known as the Palace of Light. The palace was built in 1872 and incorporates many different styles from Greek to Italian to Islamic. The building was designed by a British engineer, Mr Heenan, for Nawab Abbasi IV for his wife. It is believed that his wife only stayed there for one night as she didn’t like that she could see a graveyard close by.

In 1956, after Bahawalpur become a province, the palace was administered by a department of the local Punjab Government. The building had fallen into disrepair and many items had been stolen. In 1971 the palace was leased to the army. In 1997 the army purchased it and restored the building. It is now a protected monument and open to the public.

While the building has been beautifully restored and contains many antiques, including a 1935 Ford Caravan that the Nawab used for Hajj, my favourite part of the tour was the gallery of historic photographs. It makes me wonder if someone will look at my photographs one hundred years from now and wonder about the people and what their lives were really like.