Bangladesh: Baliati Zamindar Bari Palace

The Baliati Zamindar Bari, aka Baliati Palace, is a historic 19th-century palace complex located in Baliati village about 60km northwest of Dhaka. It was built by the wealthy Zamindar family, founded by Govinda Ram Shaha, a prominent salt merchant in the mid-18th century. His four sons constructed the palace’s seven buildings around 1790, designed in Renaissance and Greek-Roman architectural styles. The complex includes over 200 rooms, a museum, and a large pond with six ghats. Some locals call it “Salt Palace” in reference to the salt baron who built it. Most of it is in semi-decaying condition of humidity and nature slowly taking over, but it’s still quite popular with local tourists.