Sethi Houses

Sethi Houses
The Sethi Haveli’s are located in Mohalla Sethian near Gor Katri in the walled city of Peshawar. The havelis were designed and built in the nineteenth century taking inspiration from the vernacular architecture of Bukhara. These houses were built on frame construction with vertical posts and horizontal bracing placed at regular interval. These havelis have tehkhanas (basement rooms), balakhana (upper storey), dalaans (big halls), chinikhanas (rooms where decoration and art pieces are displayed in small niches) and fountains in the courtyard can be found in each house. The ceilings are decorated with tarseem bandi, painted while the walls are decorated with mirror work. One of the houses has two portions, one for men and one for women. The structures present combination of brick and woodwork embellished with carved wooden doors and balconies. Painted and mirrored atriums provide fresh air and attractive views, while the main entrances are made of superbly carved wood. The houses are finest work of art and craft of Khyber Pukhtunkhawa. Imported glass chandeliers were installed in the interiors.
One of the houses recently purchased by the government has 12 rooms and four basements and includes a fountain. Colourful glass ceilings with geometrical designs, woodwork with engravings of various splendid designs on walls, a big resting place, made of wood and called Takht-e-Sulaimani, to take sunshine in winter, beautiful ventilators, slanting window-shades, wooden wall cupboards, chimneys and red bricks stairs with projected wooden frames are some of the prominent features of the house.