1. Lalbagh Fort:
Lalbagh Fort is one of the most important places in Bangladesh and is located by the side of Buriganga River. This an incomplete Mughal structure in Bangladesh that was built in the 17 th century. It was initiated by Mughal Subahdar Muhammad Azam Shah who gradually became an emperor. Though the construction began in 1678 it was not completed even by 1688 by Shaista Khan, the successor of Muhammad Azam Shah. There are several thoughts have been found over abandoning the construction. It is said that Shaista Khan could have completed the construction but he did not as his daughter Dukht Pari Bidi died inside the premises which made him thought negative about the fort. Besides, when the capital shifted to Murshidabad, the fort lost its popularity. Some newer structures have been excavated in the recent days and earlier, the fort was consisted of the tomb of Bibi Pari, Diwan-i- Aam and the mosque. The two-storied Diwan-i- Aam was used as the residence of the governor of Bengal during the Mughal period with the facility of a hammam on the downstairs. The hammamkhana (a room for bath) contained facilities of both the hot and cold water. The tomb of Bibi Pari is on the central point of the entire complex and the walls are covered with white marble. Now this is one of the most visiting places in the country and a large number of people come to visit the for annually.
2. Shat Gambuj Masjid:
The Shat Gambuj Masjid is another wonder in Bangladesh and located in Bagerhat district. This is a World Heritage Site in Bangladesh and is also considered as the most impressive Muslim monuments in the Indian subcontinent for its special structures and building styles. This is the largest mosque in the country of the Sultanate period and have played different roles in the history. Though the name suggests about sixty domes, there more domes on the mosque roof and it is around 77. The mosque has been constructed in a locality which was remote once and the surrounding locality was uninhabitable as well. The mosque was founded in the middle part of the 15 th century by a saint and administrator – Ulugh Khan Jahan Ali. He founded a Muslim colony in the mangrove forest in Bagerhat in the reign of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah. The city of Bagerhat was known as Khalifatabad. Khan Jahan Ali started preaching Islam and since he was the city administrator, he adorned the city with different structures while the number of mosques was more than the other things. This multi-domed mosque is one of the remains of that period and its construction began in around 1442 and was completed in 1459. When the locality was under the domination of Khan Jahan Ali, he used to use the mosque both as the prayer hall and his court of administration. Being a historical site, the mosque is visited by a good number of people annually in Bangladesh.
3. Shahid Minar:
The Shaheed Minar (Monument built for the martyrs) is a national monument in Bangladesh. The monument was built to remember the sacrifice of the martyrs in language movement. The history of the Shaheed Minar dates back to 1952 when the people of the then East Pakistan protested against the declaration of mother tongue to be Urdu whereas majority of the people used to speak in Bengali. Then the oppressive rulers deployed the police forces on the unarmed and peace-loving people of the East Pakistan and some of the protestors with the demand of Bengalis as the mother languages died on the spot when the force opened fire. In fact, it was a massacre on that day. It was the 21st of February in 1952 and since then the day has been being observed as the Mother Language Day in Bangladesh. Commemorating the killings, a makeshift monument was erected on the next day (February 23, 1952) by the students of Dhaka University and other associated educational institutions which also was destroyed by the occupying police force. Later, another Shaheed Minar was built with the design made jointly by Hamidur Rahman and Novera Ahmed but it was destroyed by the occupation forces in 1971 and again was built after the independence of Bangladesh and got a large expansion. Now the Shaheed Minar is located beside the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and a huge number of people pay homage to the martyrs of the Language Movement every year on February 21 with bare feet.
4. Ahsan Manzil:
Ahsan Manzil is one of the most prominent and historical places in the country and once it was the official residence of the Dhaka Nawab Family. The family members also used it as their seats as well to run their administrative activities. This is a wonderful building by the bank of Buriganga River and the construction of the house began in 1859 while the entire construction tasks were done by 1872. This was in fact a palace which has been made with the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture and now the building has been turned into a national museum and a good number of crowd comes to visit the place. The history of the palaces dates back to the Mughal era when related with Sheik Enayet Ullah, the landlord of Jamalpur porgona who made a palace with a large garden and after his death the palace has been shifted to several owners and underwent different renovations. The property was bought by Khwaja Alimullah, a landlord in Dhaka sand renovated it as his residence. The palace was rebuilt again with a new design after a massive tornado in 1888 by the initiatives of Khwaja Abdul Gani and his son, Khwaja Ahsanullah. The palace started losing its glory with the death of Khwaja Ahsanulah as the successors could not administer everything like him. Between the two parts, one the part is known as the Rangmahal while the other one is known as the Andarmahal. The dome above the Rangmahal has increased its beauty and the wooden staircase. This is a beautiful place for the local and international travelers.
5. Paharpur:
Sompura Mahavihara is one the most important archaeological sites in Bangladesh and it is located in Paharpur under Naogaon district. This is the most famous Buddhist viharas in the country and in the Indian subcontinent. The site has been declared as one of the World Heritage Sites in Bangladesh. This is one of the five great places that grew up during the Pāla period during the ancient Bengal and Magadha. All the remaining other monasteries were linked together and evidences show that they were interconnected and shared information about different issues. Besides, the scholars also used to move from one place to another place for sharing knowledge and teach students in the eastern Indian region. Evidences show that Sompura Mahavihara was formed during the second Pala king named Dharmapala who belonged to Pala Dynasty. There are 177 cells in the structure while the traditional Buddhist stupa was set in the center. The rooms have been used for meditations and accommodation for the monks living in the monastery. Besides, the excavations have also discovered a notable number of usable things from the monastery relics of various shapes and sizes. The entire monastery is set on a place covering 27 acres of lands. Though the meaning of some of the discoveries have been uncovered but most of the discoveries have remained unsolved. A good number of stone statues have been discovered and the terracotta artworks are of great value.
6. Baba Adam’s Mosque:
This mosque is one of the other special places of Bangladesh and considered as one of the most ancient places inside the country. The mosque is located in Kazi Qasba village in Munsiganj district which was formerly known as Vikrampur. This is a Jami Mosque in the locality and was built in the 13th century. It was Malik Kafur who built the mosque and then it was named after the local saint Baba Adam Shahid. The mosque has great importance considering historical aspects. It was the only Muslim structure in the region where most of the populations were followers of Hindu religion. The name of the mosque has been picked following the name of the saint as he died in battle against a local Hindu king to defend Islam as religion. The construction of the mosque began in 1483 AD and then was the reign of Sultan Jalal-al-din Fath Shah. The grave of the saint is located adjacent to the mosque and now this is being taken care of by the Department of Archaeology since the mosque is one of the oldest one in the country. The mosque underwent some renovations and now is in a very good state. The mosque has six domes and those are set in two rows while there are three attractive arches on the eastern side of the mosque. Presently, this is one of the most visiting places in Bangladesh.
7. Mahasthangarh:
Mahasthangarh is one of the ancient archaeological sites of Bangladesh and the village is named as Mahasthan which is located in Bogra district in Bangladesh. The location contains the remains of an ancient city which was known as the Pundranagara and was under the territory of Pundravardhana. From the discovered evidences, it is known that the site was established in the 3rd centry BC while the fortified area of the site was in use till the 18th century for different purposes. There is also a tomb of Shah Sultan Balkhi Mahisawar who was considered as a dervish who came in the locality to spread Islam among the Non-Muslims and converted a good number of people of the locality. The name has been derived based on the spacious location where a fort has been made. The place has appeared on a 13th century text named – Vallalcharita. In fact, the location was the ancient capital of Pundravardhana and now accessible from every parts of the country. During the ancient period, the location was selected as it is comparatively higher from the sea level than the other places. The place was first discovered in 1808 and then it was identified as capital in 1879. The castle was the heart of the city and the once mighty river Karatoa flows beside the citadel. Excavation for the site started in 1920 but the full-fledged archaeological excavation began in 1928. A large number of ancient relics have been found in the excavations and now this is one of the greatest tourist attractions in the country.
8. Star Mosque:
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and is famous for mosques. Once the city was knowns as the ‘City of the Mosques’. Star Mosque is one of the most attractive mosques in the city and locally this is known as the Tara Masjid. Here Tara refers to Star while Majsid refers to Mosque. The mosque is located in Aramanitola in Dhaka. The Star Mosque was built in the middle of the 19th century with the contribution of Mirza Golam Pir also known as Mirza Ahmed Jan. But with the passage of time the Mosque has been reshaped by another wealthy businessman known as Ali Jan Bepari in the 20th century. He extended the Mosque and used colored tiles to increase its beauty. Ali Jan Bepari has also contributed on construction of the mosque’s verandah with some imported and colorful tiles from different countries. As a result, the inner and the outer part of the Star Mosque has got a different look. Earlier, there were three domes on the roof of the mosque but after the remodeling and modification, tow more domes have been added on the mosque’s roof that has also increased the beauty of the mosque. The mosaic decoration has taken the shape of stars and thus the name of the mosque has been derived. The mosque is now a good place for visiting and even the Non-Muslims also could visit the place except the prayer times.
9. Sonargaon:
Sonargaon is one of the historical places in Bangladesh and server different roles to different rulers like the city has played the role of administrative center, often as a commercial hub or maritime heart for the country. The ancient city is located on the delta of Ganges; the city has also served some other purposes. Sonargan had become the seat of the Muslim rulers and governors in the Medieval age in the eastern part of Bengal. The city has also been adorned by different travelers like Ibn Battuta, Ralph Fitch among others and all of them have praised the city outstandingly. Sonargaon also was the capital of different influential rulers like Sultan Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah, Isa Khan and the league of 12 brothers commonly known as the Baro Bhuiyan Confederacy who did not obey the Mughal rules in this locality and fought against them. Presently, the locality has gained the status of being a sub-district and the name has been derived from the ancient name – Suvarnagrama. Before the Muslim rulers, the locality was ruled by the Buddhists and after the invasion of Shamsuddin Firoz Shah, the Buddhist reign ended. The Panam City has been established in the last part of the 19th century and turned into a trading hub for cotton and fabrics. Now this entire locality is under the care of Department of Archaeology and a great number of visitors annually visit the location.
10. Mainamati:
Mainamati is generally famous for its Buddhist settlements. In fact, this is a range of hills and it is predicted that the settlements took place even before the 10th century, while some of the schools are on the view that the settlement took place between 8th and 12th century. The range of the settlement extended in the other parts of the locality like the Comilla district. The location is surrounded by Comilla cantonment and a colonial period cemetery is also located next to the structures. The name of the location has been derived from the name of the Chandra queen who had the same name – Mainamati. She was the mother of Govindrachandra. Now this is an extremely attractive tourist attraction in Bangladesh and contains some other ancient relics including the Shalban Vihara, Kutila Mura, Ananda Rajer Badi (the home of the king Ananda), Mainamati Ranir Badi (the home of queen Mainamati) etc. The Shalban VIhara is the heart of Mainamati with a temple in the center. It is resembling the Sompur Vihara and was an educational center for the Buddhists and residential facilities were available for the students. The Mainamati Ranir Badi has been made as a museum and contains different ancient artifacts which attract the tourists most.
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