Sonargaon – The Ancient Capital of Bengal

Sonargaon was the capital of the ancient kingdom ruled by Isa Khan of Bengal. Bengal is now divided into West Bengal, which is a state in India and Eastern Bengal, which is the nation of Bangladesh. Today, old Sonargaon is home to some of the oldest buildings in Bangladesh.

Old Sonargaon can be found near Narayanganj and Dhaka, cities in Bangladesh, and is considered one of the first and oldest capitals of Bengal. Sonargaon was known as “The City of Panam” and was a focal part of the renowned Deva Dynasty until the thirteenth century. Mainly middle or upper class people inhabited Sonargaon during that time period. This subsidiary position that Sonargaon had now taken, lasted until the arrival of the Mughals. The Mughal Empire originated in India and was first founded in 1526 by Babur, a Turco-Persian leader. The imperial Mughal viceroys ruled Bengal, and thus Sonargaon, for nearly a century before Bangladesh was founded in 1608.Today, many people still visit the historic city of Sonargaon. 

They are attracted by its immense beauty and by the ruins of buildings and relics that date back to the era of Bengal. The Goaldia Mosque is situated in the Goaldi village and is a wonderful example of an ancient Sonargaon building. For those interested in historical and archaeological relics, which have been unearthed from Sonargaon, the Jainal Abedin Museum is a good place to visit. You can still see the intact shrines of Shah Abdul Alia and Panjpirs, and the Tomb of Sultan Ghias ud Din. If you travel just out of Sonargaon, into the countryside, you will see an example of a Moghul Palace and an old museum. These two buildings are located on beautiful grounds with lots of birds, trees and plants, a pond and a number of sheltered walks.

Old Sonargaon is a wonderful city to visit, with so much to offer visitors if history andculture is what they enjoy.

Bangladesh’s Sparkling Star Mosque

In a city well known for its numerous mosques, the Star Mosque (Tara Masjid) stands out as a sparkling jewel in the Armanitola area in the older part of the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Although the mosque has no inscription relating to the date of construction, it is known that the mosque was erected by the son of a prominent landowner (zaminder), Mirza Golam Pir who died in 1860.The original Mughal architectural style mosque was a three-domed oblong structure with three mihrabs (prayer areas facing Mecca) in alignment with the three doorways of the mosque, with the central mihrab being larger than those flanking it.



 The prayer chamber was covered by three domes, with the central dome being taller and larger than the other two. Unlike the mosque as it stands today, there was very little in the way of decoration of the original building.The Star Mosque gets its name from the fact that it is predominantly decorated with stars. The white marble domes are decorated with hundreds of blue stars that shine in the sunlight. Throughout the mosque the walls, columns, floors and ceilings are decorated with mosaics of flowers in vases, crescents, Arabic calligraphic writing and hundreds of stars, mostly made from small chips of Chinaware crockery and pieces of glass. This unusual and beautiful form of mosaic work is known as “Chini Tikri”.In the hustle and bustle of the busy city of Dhaka, the serenely beautiful Star Mosque stands out as a symbol of Islam, the dominant religion of Bangladesh.

Magnificent Ahsan Manzil

Ahsan Manzil (Bengali: আহসান মঞ্জিল, Ahsan Monjil) was the official residential palace and seat of the Dhaka Nawab Family. This magnificent building is situated at Kumartoli along the banks of the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The construction of this palace was started in the year 1859 and was completed in 1869. It is constructed in the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture. To preserve the cultural and history of the area, the palace bIn mughal period, there was a garden house of Sheikh Enayet Ullah, the landlord of Jamalpur porgona (district), in this place. Sheikh Enayet Ullah was a very charming person. ecame the Bangladesh National Museum on 20 September 1992.




Ahsan Manzil is one of the most significant architectural monuments of Bangladesh. The building structure was established on a raised platform of 1 meter, the two-storied palace measures 125.4m by 28.75m. The height of the ground floor is 5 meters and the height of the first floor 5.8 meters. The thickness of the walls of the palace is about 0.78 meters. There are porticos of 5 meters height on the northern and southeThe construction of the famous dome of the Ahsan Mazil, which is at the center of the palace, took a lot tedious planning. The square room on the ground floor was built with a round shape and brickworks were done around the corners. To give the room an octagonal shape, squinches were given around the roof corners. The eight corners of the octagon was slanted gradually to make the dome look like the bud of a lotus ( kumud kali). The peak of this dome is 27.13 m above the ground. rn sides of the palace. The building has a broad front-facing the Buriganga River.

National Temple Dhakeshwari

Situated in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the state-owned Dhakeshwari National Temple is a great tourist attraction. The name Dhakeshwarialludes to the temple’s dedication to the Goddess of Dhaka and visitors should take care to show respect for the religious beliefs of those who frequent this large and ancient temple. 

The Dhakeshwari National Temple is located right behind the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology campus. It is widely seen as being the most important Hindu place of worship in the country and so you will often see devout Hindus flocking here for worship. The 11th century temple is also the oldest Hindu temple in the city and it is situated at the point where the most ancient ramparts of the city meet with the new and vibrant city ofDhaka. No one really knows much about the origin of this temple but a popular legend says it was built by Ballal Sen in the 12th century. However researcherThe temple continues to see regular use, including day-long prayers which are common practice in Bangladesh onnational holidays and birth and death anniversaries of popular leaders. So tread lightly and make sure you don’t get in anyone’s way when you are visiting the Dhakeshwari National Temple.s have found that the architectural style is not consistent with that period in history.

Historical interest Shat Gambuj mosque

The Shat Gambuj Mosque is famous for it's historical importance. It is one of greatest mosques in Bangladesh in respect of its spectacular beauty.It is situated in Bagerhat besides the longest sea beach ' BAY OF BENGAL ' , also the longest mangrove forest ' SUNDORBAN ' .In the king of SULTAN NASSIRUDDIN MAHMOOD SHAH ( 1435-1459 ) is established KHOLIFABAD area under SAINT ULUGH KHAN JAHAN made this magnificent mosque at 1459 . It took's several year to complete it.

                                                                                                                                                                 

 It's total length is 160 feet and total wide is 108 feet. The roof of the mosque is supported by 77 squat domes. The vast prayer hall of the mosque has 11 arched doorways on east and 7 each on north and south for the ventilation and light. It has 7 longitudinal corridors. Architecturally, the interior and exterior of the mosque is quite plain. But the interior Western Wall was decorated beautifully with terracotta flowers and foliage. It offers an impressive look. UNESCO is already declered this mosque as one of the historical place of the world.

Historical Lalbagh Fort

Lalbagh Fort or Fort Aurangabad, an incomplete Mughal palace fortress at Dhaka on the river Buriganga in the southwestern part of the old city. The river has now gone further south and flows at quite a distance from the fort. D'Oily's painting (1809-11) shows that more than half of this east-west oblong fortress touched the wThe construction of the fort was commenced in 1678 AD by prince muhammad azamduring his 15 month long vice-royalty of Bengal, but before he could complete the work he was recalled by aurangzeb. His successor, shaista khan did not continue the work, though he stayed in Dhaka up to 1688. His daughter bibi pari (Lady Fairy) died here in 1684 and this led him to consider the fort to be ominous.ater of the river on its south and southOf the three surviving gateways, the southern one is the most imposing. Seen from the front itOn the northern side of the southern fortification were placed utility buildings, such as the stable, the administrative block, and its western part accommodated a beautiful roof-garden with arrangements for fountains and a water reservoir. is a three storeyed structure with a fronton, bordered with slender minarets. western sides.The central area of the fort is occupied by three buildings - the Diwan-i-Aam and the Hammam on its east, the mosque on the west and the tomb of Bibi Pari in between the two - in one line, but not at equal distance.The water channels and the fountains, a very common feature of Mughal architecture, set an atmosphere not very unlike north Indian Mughal forts.The double storeyed Diwan-i-Aam attached with a single storeyed Hammam on its west is an The building in the middle, the tomb of Bibi Pari, is the most impressive of the surviving buildings of the fort. Eight rooms surround a central square room, containing the mortal remains of Bibi Pari, which is covered by a false dome, octagonal in shape, and wrapped by brass plate. imposing building.The archaeological excavations have revealed strata of the Sultanate as well as of the pre-Muslim periods, from where terracotta heads and plaques have been found. Thus it is now justified to say that though the Mughals founded Dhaka, it was definitely inhabited long before the Muslims came to Bengal.

Tourist place,Kaptai Lake

A pleasant and picturesque drive of 64 km. from Chittagong brings you to a huge expanse of emerald and blue water ringed by tropical forests. It is the famous man-made Kaptai Lake (680 sq. km.). From Kaptai along the Chittagong road, lies the ancient Chit Morang Buddhist temple having beautiful Buddhist statues.

Kaptai lake is a huge lake and it has some tiny islands. A half day trip will be fine to explore the lake and the islands. Each island has different name such as "Peda Ting-Ting", "Tuk-Tuk Echo Village", "Chang-Pang" etc. "Peda Ting-Ting" is a tiny island and here you will find cottages to stay and enjoy moon lit night with fantastic lake surroundings. "Tuk-Tuk" is an echo park with varities of trees and plants. "Shovolong" spring is a beautiful spring from the hill and has an exotic land scape.

Take a motor boat from reserve bazar. First visit shuvolong spring and shuvolong bazar. At the end of shuvolong bazar, there is a mini zoo and has some nice sculptures of liberation of Bangladesh and this is maintained by armies. After this place, have lunch at Chung Pang or Peda Ting Ting. In these places, you will find some wonderful tribal dishes and the best is the bamboo chicken.