Many of the people are not aware of the hidden treasure named “Noor Mehal” in Bahawalpur. There are various stories regarding construction of the palace. But the most believed one is that Nawab sadiq Muhammad khan 4 ordered to construct the palace for his wife, however, she stayed at the palace only for one night, as she happened to see the adjoining graveyard from the balcony of the palace, and refused to visit the palace again, and so the palace remained unused during his reign.It is in possession of the army and is used as state guest house and meetings with foreign delegations.
You still get the aroma of the Nawab rule when you enter the palace. For his passion of construction of buildings Nawab Subah Sadiq the fourth is also known as the Shah Jahan of Bahawalpur. 
The state engineer Mr. Hennan; an Englishman designed the building. Noor Palace was founded in 1872 and was completed in 1875. The map and coins of the state were buried in the foundation of the palace as good omen. Nawab ordered to import most of the material and furniture from England and Italy. The palace cost of Rs. 1.2 Million. The Palace has a covered area of 44,600 square feet. It has totally 32 rooms in which 14 are in basement, 6 in Verandas and 5 domes.
The design in the mahal is a blend of Corinthian and Islamic styles of architecture with a little effect of sub continental style. The columns, balustrade and the vaulted ceiling of Durbar Hall have a clear Corinthian touch.
Whereas its five domes clearly demonstrate Islamic style of architecture and its angular elliptical shapes solidly represent a subcontinent style.
A mosque was later added to the palace in 1906 by Nawab Muhammad Behawal Khan the fifth, at the cost of Rs. 20,000. The design is based on the mosque of Aitchison College. 
The building was taken over by the Auqaf department in 1956. In 1971 the palace was leased to the army and in 1997 the army purchased it for the total cost of 119 million.
However in September 2001, the building was declared a “protected monument” by the Government of Pakistan's Department of Archeology and now the palace is open for the general public. If you visit Bahawalpur you must visit this hidden treasure of Pakistan that still stands with its glory.
