Fascinating Bengal

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General Niazi being escorted by Major Haider and General Aurora to surrender in 16 th December

Dhaka 1971 (dec) - Razakars begging for mercy

Dhaka 1970 during the period of Ashohojog Movemant

Kurmitola Airport --- Destroyed runway due to bombing -1971

 

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World's Longest Natural Beach - Cox's Bazar

Cox's Bazar is a town, a fishing port and district headquarters in Bangladesh. It is known for its wide sandy beach which, believed to be the world's longest natural sandy sea beach. It is an unbroken 125 km sandy sea beach with a gentle slope. It is located 150 km south of Chittagong. Cox’s Bazar is also known by the name "Panowa".

 

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Dhaka 1934 - RAF biplanes Westland Wapitis re-fueling from cans on airstrip

Dhaka 1840 - Buriganga Riverfront

Ahsan Manzil 1887 - Damage suffered by severe tornado

Gulistan 1957 - "Bibi Mariam" Mir Jumla's Cannon at DIT Avenue

Babubazar Ghat 1880 - Mitford Hospital from Buriganga River

 

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"Dhakeswari" name came from "Dhaka Swari" which that time there is jungle near dhaka. And there was a idol surrounding by tree that almost hide the idol. Some say when Islam khan fast came in dhaka he heard drum music. Drum's bangla means "dhak". May be "Dhaka" name came from this.

 

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Ramna 1904 - Viceroy Lord Curzon's escort

Lalbagh 1905 - British barrack buildings within Lalbagh Fort

Dilkusha 1880 - Bhulbhulaiya Garden

Ahsan Manzil 1902 - Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah with local elites

Dholai Khal 1870

Lalbagh 1880 - Lalbagh Fort

 

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Shahbagh 1904 - Nawab's Shahbagh Garden

Lalbagh 1870 - Lalbagh Fort

Posta 1816 - Part of Palace of Prince Azim-us-Shan sketch by: Charles D'Oyly.

Gandaria 1816 - View of Dhaka from Gandharia - Charles D'Oyly.

Ramna Kali Mandir

 

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Sylhet Bangladesh

 

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The Lalbagh Fort Complex

 

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Kabi Guru Rabindra Nath with Professor Ramesh Chandra Majumdar in Dhaka University

 

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Mohakhali Flyover

This 1.12 km long flyover is 17.9 metre wide with two lanes in both sides. It rests upon 19 spans on 552 piles. The project cost was $19 million The flyover has 42 Shock Transmission Units (STUs) which would protect it against earthquakes.

 

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Sadar Ghat Buri Ganga River font.. Is it not beautiful??

 

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Aerial shots of Dhaka city

 

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Moheshkhali Island

It is an island off the coast of Cox's Bazar. It has an area of 268 square kilometers. Through the center of the island and along the eastern coastline rises, a range of low hills, 300 feet high; but the coast to the west and north is a low-lying treat, fringed by mangrove jungle. In the hills on the coast is built the shrine of Adinath, dedicated to Siva. By its side on the same hill is Buddhist Pagoda. You can go to this Island by local motorboat called trawler or by speedboat. By trawler, it takes an hour and a half and by speedboat, it takes only half an hour to reach this Island. You will find mangrove forests, hilly areas, salt field etc. This island is famous for Buddhist Temple and Pagoda; you can enjoy a full day sight seeing if you intend to visit Sonadia and some other Islands nearby. In the morning you can start for Moheskhali, spend time to watch Moheskhali’s tourist places, take lunch there and on return you can visit Sonadia and other nearby Islands where you can sea the live fishing & fishermen lifestyle; By the afternoon you can come back to Cox’s Bazaar.

 

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Below, a pic from early in Alamgir's reign showing Muhammad Azam as a child, at the foot of the throne on which his father is sitting. Standing behind him (purple tunic) is Shaista Khan.

Bara Katra

On with the thread...Next to Lalbagh Fort, the most important Mughal monument in the city is the Bara Katra or Large Caravanserai. This was built in 1644 by one Mir Abdul Qasem and in its day was one of the grandest of Mughal caravenserais. A caravanserai is a structure found in most important Islamic cities and were the precursors of modern hotels. They provided visiting merchants with lodging and a place to store their goods and animals. Unfortunately, the Bara Katra has not benefited from the same conservation efforts as has the Lalbagh Fort, and exists today in a delapidated condition. The Katra is illegally occupied by, and the surrounding land controlled by, a large madrassah which has resisted all efforts to try and save this building. The government has made no effort to do so, either.

The building was originally a quadrangular structure with an inner courtyard. Only the south wall of the building survives today. In Mughal times, the Buringanga used to flow past the south side of the katra. Even looking at a picture from an article from National Geographic magazine in the 1950s, there was still an unobstructed view of the building from the river. No longer the case - the katra is heavily encroached by surrounding structures, so an unobstructed view is impossible, and the river flows much further south.

Here is a picture of the outer aspect of the south (river front) from Charles D'Oyly's sketches (circa 1814; see the elephant for idea of size):

Another D'Oyly sketch which shows a portion of the northern side of the complex, which no longer survives. Note the mosque, which does not survive either.

Here is another view showing the inner aspect of the south front. This photo is from the 1870s and is taken from where the courtyard would have been. This is essentially the same part of the building which survives today, albeit in far worse condition.

 

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Mughal Bridges

The Mughals built bridges in and around Dhaka, as elsewhere. There was a wooden bridge across the Buriganga that connected the palace at Jinjira to the city. The most famous bridge was the Pagla Pul across the Qadamtali rivulet, about halfway between Dhaka and Narayanganj.

D'Oyly sketched it in ruinous condition in the early 1800s (in the first picture - look in the distance. You can see the Dhaka riverfront ):

This is a photo of the ruins from the 1870s:

This photo, from the 1880s, was labeled as an unknown bridge, but I think that it is also of Pagla Pul:

And a few other bridges. Bridge at Tantee Bazar, sketched by D'Oyly:

Bridge at Tongi. The first pic is a sketch by D'Oyly, the next two photos are from the 1880s.