Travel to the Mosque City of Bagerhat in Bangladesh

The Bagerhat District is situated in South-western Bangladesh in the Khulna Division. It is a historically rich part of the country with some great attractions. One of its most notable attractions is the Mosque City of Bagerhat.

The city of Bagerhat is situated at the point where the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers meet. In the heart of Bagerhat’s suburbs you’ll find an ancient city that is known as the Mosque City of Bagerhat. The city was founded by Ulugh Khan Jahan, a Turkish general who lived in the 15th century. The Mosque City of Bagerhat was originally known as Khalifatabad and today it is a World Heritage Site – one of only three to be found in Bangladesh.

What makes the Mosque City of Bagerhat so special is that the city not only has a large number of mosques, but it’s infrastructure bears witness to considerable technical skill, which must have been hard to accomplish back in the 15th century. Many of the mosques and other Islamic monuments to be found in this strongly religious ancient city were built of brick – something that was not a commonly used building material at the time. However, most people come here, not to marvel over the strength of the stone used to build these mosques, but to gaze up at the mighty, domed structures themselves. There are a number of different mosques in the Mosque City of Bagerhat. The Sixty Pillar Mosque, also known as the Shatgumbad Mosque, is one of the oldest mosques in Bangladesh. The striking edifice has more than sixty pillars and eighty-one domes! It is built of brick and decorated with terracotta. The building was established by a Muslim saint known as Khan Jahan Ali who ruled Bagerhat during the 15th century. As far as is known, the mosque has mainly been used as a prayer mosque, an assembly hall for Muslims in times gone by, and as a Madrasa.

While the Shat Gambuj Mosque is by far one of the most interesting attractions to be found here, it is certainly not the only one. The Sona Mosque is also quite interesting, as is Khan Jahan Ali’s tomb complex and tank. Also worth seeing are the Ghora Dighi, the Kodla Math, the Durgapur Shiva Math, the Mongla Port, the Sundarban and the Rupsha Bridge. So visit Bagerhat and discover a great architectural legacy in this small corner of the country for yourself!

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