Mohatta Palace, Palace and museum in Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan
Mohatta Palace is an Indo-Saracenic building in Clifton, Karachi, with pink and yellow stone walls, balconies, and decorative domes. The two floors contain rooms of different sizes arranged around a central courtyard, marked by carved lattices and arched windows.
Shivratan Mohatta, a Hindu merchant from Marwar, commissioned this building in 1927 after doctors advised his wife to live near the coast. Following partition in 1947, the family left Pakistan and the building changed hands several times before being converted into a museum in the 1990s.
The name comes from Shivratan Mohatta, a Hindu merchant who originally used the estate as a summer residence. Today visitors come here to walk through the galleries and view temporary art exhibitions that often feature local artists and traditional craft forms.
The museum is open daily except Mondays, and admission is reduced for children and seniors. Tours are offered in both English and Urdu, and most rooms are on ground level or accessible via a few steps.
The pink stones came from Jodhpur in Rajasthan, while the yellow ones were quarried locally in Gizri, both transported over great distances. The architect drew inspiration from tombs in Makli, whose patterns were recreated in the facades.
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