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Star
Mosque:
A very beautiful mosque of the city is situated
at Mahuttuly on Abul Khairat Rd; just west of
Armanitola Govt. High School. Architecturally
faultless (Mughal style) is a five-dome mosque
with hundreds of big and small twinkling stars
as surface decorations. The stars have been created
by setting pieces of chinaware on white cement.
Seen from the front and from far it looks as if
shining above the surface of the earth.
The inside of it is even more beautiful that the
outside, lovely mosaic floor and excellent tiles
with many floral patterns set on the walls, are
all in complete harmony. The sitara Masjid was
built originally with three domes in early 18th
century by Mirza Ghulam Pir, a highly respectable
Zamindar of Dhaka. Frequently used in calendars.
Entrance: through a lane named after the mosque.
Baitul Mukarram Mosque:
Baitul Mukarram Mosque is situated at Purana Paltan
east of Bangladesh Secretariat and north of Dhaka
Stadium. Largest Mosque in the city, three storied
and built after the pattern of the Kaba Sharif.
Very beautiful and costly decorations in the interior.
Long lawn, garden and rows of fountains to the
south and east.
The mosque is on a very high platform. Lovely
flight of stairs lead to it; from the south, east
and north. On the east is a vast varanda which
is also used for prayer and Eid congregation.
Below in the ground floor is a shopping centre.
Shait-Gumbad Mosque, Bagerhat:
In mid-15th century, a Muslim colony was
founded in the inhospitable mangrove forest of
the Sundarbans near the sea coast in the Bagerhat
district by an obscure saint-General, named Ulugh
Khan Jahan. He was the earliest torch bearer of
islam in the South who laid the nucleus of an
affluent city during the reign of Sultan Nasiruddin
Mahmud Shah (1442-59), then known as 'khalifalabad'
(present Bagerhat).
Khan Jahan aborned his city with numerous mosques,
tanks, roads and other public buildings, the spectacular
ruins of which are focused around the most imposing
and largest multidomed mosques in Bangladesh,
known as the Shait-Gumbad Masjid (160'X108').
The stately fabric of the monument, serene and
imposing, stands on the eastern bank of an unusually
vast sweet-water tank, clustered around by the
heavy foliage of a low-laying countryside, characteristic
of a sea-coast landscape.
The mosque roofed over with 77 squat domes, including
7 chauchala or four-sided pitched Bengali domes
in the middle row. The vast prayer hall, although
provided with 11 arched doorways on east and 7
each on north and south for ventilation and light,
presents a dark and sombre appearance inside.
It is divided into 7 longitudinal aisles and 11
deep bays by a forest of slender stone columns,
from which springs rows of endless arches, supporting
the domes. Six feet thick, slightly tapering walls
and hollow and round, almost detached corner towers,
resembling the bastions of fortress, each capped
by small rounded cupolas, recall the Tughlaq architecture
of Delhi. The general appearance of this noble
monument with its stark simplicity but massive
character reflects the strength and simplicity
of the builder.
Chhota Sona Mosque:
One of the most graceful monument of the
Sultanate period is the Chhota Sona Masjid or
Small Golden Mosque at Gaur in Rajshahi Built
by one Wali Muhammad during the reign of Sultan
Alauddin Husain Shah (1493-1519). Originally it
was roofed over with 15 gold-gilded domes including
the 3 Chauchala domes in the middle row, from
which it derives its curious name.
Mosque of Baba Adam:
Of a slightly later date the elegant 6-domed mosque
(43'x36') of Baba Adam in Rampal near Dhaka was
erected by one Malik Kafur during the reign of
the last llyas Shahi Sultan, Jalauddin Fateh Shah
in 1483 A.D. It displays the same characterstic
features of the period such as the faceted octagonal
turrets at 4 corners, the curved cornice, the
facade and 3 mihrabs relieved richly with beautiful
terracotta floral and hanging patterns.
The Shrine of Hazrat Shah
Jalal:
Among the several places of historical
interest in Sylhet town is the shrine of Saint
Hazrat Shah Jalal. Even today, more than six hundred
years after his death, the shrine is visited by
innumerable devotees of every caste and creed,
who make the journey from far away places. Hazrat
Shah Jalal is credited with the help extended
to the Muslim army which conquered Sylhet in 1303
A.D.
Shrine of Sultan Bayazid
Bostami:
Situated on a hillock in Nasirabad, about 6 km.
to the north-west of Chittagong town, this shrine
attracts a large number of visitors and pilgrims.
At its base is a large tank with several hundred
tortoises. Tradition has it that these animals
are the descendants of the evil spirits (genii)
who were cast into this shape because they incurred
the wrath of the great saint who visited the place
about 1,100 years ago.
Shrine of Shah Amanat:
The shrine of Shah Amanat is another place
of religious attraction. Located in the heart
of the town, the shrine is visited by hundreds
of people everyday who pay homage to the memory
of the saint who lived in the 19th century.
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