The grandest of several historic merchant houses in the Sethi Mohallah quarter of the old city. Built in the mid-19th century by the Sethi family — Hindu traders who grew rich on the Central Asian trade routes — the house is famous for its extraordinary woodwork: projecting verandas, carved screens, and latticework windows of a style that blends Mughal, Central Asian, and local Pashtun influences.
The Sethi family's wealth came from trade with Russia and Central Asia; at its peak the family ran a commercial network stretching from Peshawar to Bukhara. The house is a physical record of that world. Several of the Sethi houses in the mohallah have been restored by the Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan; Sethi House is the most visited.