This has got to be the coolest museum in Lahore.
Fakir Khana Museum is one of Lahore’s great unkept secrets and probably one of the most insane things you will ever see in this town.
Like, INSANE.
Run by the Fakir family in Lahore, it is home to a number of paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, Chinese porcelain, Persian carpets and other countless works of art and history. And fun fact? It is one of the LARGEST private museums in all of South Asia.
The area itself is situated in one of the most precious and historical areas in Lahore, right in the center of the Walled city of Lahore, in Bhati Gate.
^ Handwritten Holy Quran by Hazrat Imam Hussain.
Some of the exhibits have included gifts from Queen Victoria and Maharajah Ranjit Singh, to name a few.
Like, WOW.
Since the Museum is private and run by members of the family, it is not open to the public and an appointment needs to be made in advance for a tour of its treasures.
But like, weekend plans sorted.
When speaking to the admins of the museum’s Facebook page, Farhan Shah, told MangoBaaz,
“Our ancestors moved to Lahore around early to mid 1700’s. They set up a publishing house in Lahore… in those days due to the absence of printing presses, books would be rewritten. ”
“The books collected by my ancestors at that time mark the beginning of the fakir khana collection as we still possess some of those books.”
He went on to say,
“When Ranjit Singh became Maharaja of Punjab, my ancestors were employed in his court and rose to the highest positions. Fakir Azizuddin was his prime minister, Fakir Imamuddin was the governor Gobindgarh fort and Fakir Nooruddin was the interior, health and education minister…
…They were also patrons of art so the art they collected during that entire period plays gifts exchanged with dignitaries… for example, Queen Victoria… were collected under one roof to form Fakir Khana museum.”
“I am the 7th generation of the family… and we still keep on adding to the collection.”
So friends, to sum up, this museum is absolutely amazing, and Lahori’s you need to get there stat.
Been to the museum before? Have any cool memories? Never heard of this before? Feel like a treasure hunter? Indiana Jones vibes? SAME. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
