DINAJPUR Kantanahar Temple The most ornate among the late medieval temples of Bangladesh is the Kantanahar temple near Dinajpur town,which was built in 1752 by Maharaja Pran Nath of Dinajpur. The temple, a 50' square three storyed edifice, rests on a slightly curved raised plinth of sandstone blocks, believed to have been quarried from the ruins of the ancient city of Bangarh near Gangharampur in West Bengal. It was originally a navaratna temple, crowned with four richly ornamental corner towers on two storeys and a central one over the third storey. Unfortunately these ornate towers collapsed during an earthquake at the end of the 19th century. ln spite of this, the monument rightly claims to bethe finest extant example of its type in brick and terracotta,built by bengali artisans. The central cells is surrounded on all sides by a covered varendah, each pierced by three entrances, which are separated by equally ornate dwarf brick pillars, Corresponding to the three delicately causped entrances of the balcony, the sanctum has also three richly decorated arched openings on each face. Every inch of the temple surface is beautifully embellished with exquisite terracotta plaques, representing flora fauna, geometric motifs, mythological scenes and an astonishing array of contemporary social scenes and favourite pastimes. Besides, there are many other monuments which incite tourist interest.