Dhaka has several hundred historic mosques. Prominent
are the Seven Domed Mosque (17th century), Baitul Mukarram - National
Mosque, Star Mosque (18th century), Chawkbazar Mosque and Huseni Dalan
Mosque.
The mosque is a square, single domed mosque measuring
12 feet (3.7 m) square internally with a single hemispherical dome atop
the square room. Entrances are from east, north and south. Pre-Mughal
features included the curved cornices and battlements, corner octagonal
turrets, and arches on the south, north and eastern sides. The
ornamentation is modest and the building is coated with plaster.
The 600-year old mosque, one of the oldest buildings in the city, is
being demolished as part of a renovation plan which includes building a
70-foot (21 m) high minaret, and the extension of the current building
from three stories to seven.
16th May 2009. It was my holiday and I was trying to
somewhere to shot. The day before I ask some people for a short photo
walk, but one was free enough for this. Then I knocked Saif bhai (Gazi
Saif Sohel) and he gives me the green signal. My plan was to shot around
300 years old Saat Masjid (Seven Dome Mosque) or Saat Gambuj Masjid in
Mohammadpur.
Archeologists of Bangladesh claim that the Masjid was made by Shaista
Khan. He was a Subadhar and army general of Mughal
Empire in Bengal
region from 1664 to 1688. As the accurate date and year of creation of
the Masjid is unknown, we can assume this was made between these years.Size of the Masjid is 17.67meter X 6.22meter. The masjid has three domes
in north to south side and four dooms in four corners. In total it has
seven domes, that’s why people call it Sat Gomboj (Seven Dome) masjid.
All seven domes are almost in same size.
It has a small gate in front of the masjid. The gate self alone count as
an archeological heritage. Place for ablution (Oju) is in the west side
of the Masjid. Masjid has a grave yard in east north corner.
After its boundary, there is a big garden, which is also property and
part of the masjid. Boundary of the garden ends in the road and just
opposite side of the road there is also a small architecture which is
actually a shrine (Majar Sharif). People say one daughter of Shaista
Khan is sleeping in this Majar sharif.
Architecture of this Majar has similarity with Sat Gambuj Masjid. There
is a same architecture in Rohan Pur of Chapai Nawabganj. But the Shat
Masjid is an unique Masjid and the same kind of masjid is not found in
any other place.
This is a very beautiful architecture by Shaista Khan. This could be one
of the places of tourist attractions without hampering the holiness and
prayer schedule of the masjid. But I personally didn’t see any
initiative by Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) or Department of
Archeology of Bangladesh Government. Unplanned buildings very close to
the Masjid have also destroyed the beauty of the Masjid. There should be
some regulations and implementation of regulations on developing
buildings around the archeological heritages.
Star Mosque, locally known as Tara Masjid (Bangla:
তারা মসজিদ), is a mosque located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is situated at
the Armanitola area of the old part of the city. The mosque has ornate
designs and is decorated with motifs of blue stars. It was built in the
first half of the 19th century by one Mirza Golam Pir.
Built in the Mughal style by Mirza Ghulam in the late 18th century, this
mosque was originally a simple rectangular mosque, measuring 33' x 11'
with three doorways on the east facade
(main facade) and one on the
north wall and another on the south wall. Three domes crowned the
mosque, the central one being the larger. Towers accented the corners
and the façades displayed plastered panel decoration. In early 20th century, Ali Jan Bepari, a local
businessman, financed the renovation of the mosque and added a new
eastern verandah. The surface was redecorated with Chinitikri work
(mosaic work of broken China porcelain pieces), a decorative style that
was popular during the 1930's. The mosque, which previously lacked any
historical significance, is one of the few remaining architectural
example of the Chinitikri (Chinese pieces) method of mosaic decoration.
This decorative technique is found in the striking star motif that is in
part the reason for the mosque's current acclaim and popular name, Star
Mosque or Sitara Masjid. In 1987, the Ministry of Religious Affairs
commissioned Giasul Huque and Zahiruddin Zahiruddin to make additions to
the prayer hall, which was extended to include two more domes.
The mosque is decorated with imported Japanese and English china clay
tiles and utilized both methods of the Chinitikri application. One
approach uses solid color, cut clay tiles and form patterns through the
placement of these colored tiles in white plaster. The domes and the
exterior surface are covered with different colored star shaped china
clay tiles. The upper portion of the eastern façade also incorporates a
crescent motif.
Chinitikri tile work assumes another texture by using assorted pieces of
different designs of glazed tiles on the interior surfaces of the
mosque. The three mihrabs and the doorways are decorated with mosaic
floral pattern. A plant and vase motif is repeated as a decorative
element on the pendentives as well as on the interior of the verandah
wall. Curiously, a very interesting decorative element, the Japanese
Fujiyama motif, is found on the surface between the doors.
This single-domed square (8.83m) mosque, having an
octagonal engaged turret at each corner, was built in 1669 A.D.
according to a stone inscriptional slab hang over its central doorway Of
its three mihrabs the central one is tastefully decorated with creeper
devices, rosettes and other mouldings. A happy blending of typical
Mughal plastering with terracotta decoration is to be seen all along its
wall surface.
It can be approached from the Kishoregonj Railway Station by motorized
vehicle.
The great Muslim Saint, Hazrat Shah Jalal (R.A.) is
said to have brought the message of Islam to the region in the early
14th ecntury. His shrine is located at Dargah Mahalla in the heart of
Sylhet town. At about 6 km away lies the shrine of another great saint
Hazrat Shah Paran (R.A.), who is said to be a nephew of Hazrat Shah
Jalal (R.A.).
'Shah Paran' (Shah Farhan) (R) was a renowned Sufi
saint of the Suhrawardiyya and Jalalia order. It is said that he was the
son of a sister of Hazrat Shah Jalal (R) and was born in Hadramaut,
Yemen. He was an accomplice of his uncle, Shah Jalal, with whom he
arrived in India. In 1303 AD, He took part in the expedition of Sylhet
which was led by Shah Jalal. After the conquest of Sylhet he established
a khanqah at Khadim Nagar in Dakshingarh Pargana, about 7 km away from
Sylhet town, where he started Sufi spiritual practices and activities.
He played a significant role in propagating Islam and establishing
Muslim rule in the Sylhet region.
It is unclear how and when he died, but he is buried
near his khanqah. For centuries, large numbers of devotees have been
visiting his tomb, a practice which continues even today. On the 4th,
5th and 6th day of Rabi-ul-Awal, the Urs of Hazrat Shah Paran (R) takes
place. His grave is located in a high hillock and it is carefully
preserved at a place which is built with bricks and surrounded by walls.
On the northern side of the grave there is an old tree, the branches and
branchlets of which are extended above the entire tomb. The name of the
tree is 'Ashagachh' (a tree of hopes). From a close observation of the
leaves of the tree, it appears that the tree has grown out of a mixture
of the fig, mango and some other tree. People eat the seeds of the figs
devotionally in the hope of getting rid of diseases. Mangoes are also
eaten with utmost respect as Tabaruk. There is an ancient mosque by the
side of the tomb. The mosque has been modernised in 1989-91. About 1500
devout Muslims in a body can now say their prayers there.
Adjacent to the main tomb complex of Shah Paran, found in the East of
Sylhet, is another tomb visited by worshipers, that of Konya Shah.
Legend has it that this follower of the great saints was neither man nor
woman. There is a permanent exhibition of the life and times of this
saint. Contemporary paintings and pictures featured at the
tomb/exhibition depict a person most likely to be a eunuch. Though the
original conquerors earned a prominent role in Islamic history, main
stream Islam shuns the idea of worshiping saints and eunuchs.
The dargah Sharif of Hazrat Shah Sufi Amanat Shah
lies to the central jail and east of the Laldighi. He flourished during
the later part of the 18th and early part of 19th century. For a pretty
long time he concealed his spiritual attainments by serving as a peon in
the judge's Count, Chittagong.
The famous Chilla of Hazrat Sultan Bayezid Bostami is
situated on a low hillock at Nasirabad, to the extreme north of the
city. He was born in 777 A.D. at Bostan in Iran. He came to Indian and
it is said that hevisited Chittagong. There is no mazar of the saint in
the shrine. It is an astana and chilla associated with the name of the
great saint. A mosque built during the region of Emperor Aurangazeb
stands on the bank of a big tank at the foot of the hillock on which the
shrine is situated. There are several hundred tortoises in the tank.
Tradition has it that these animals are evil spirits (Djinns) who were
cast into this shape because they incurred the wrath of the great saint
who visited the place about 1.100 years ago.
The mosque was built during the reign of Suntan Alauddin
Husain Shah (1493-1519). Originally it was roofed over with 15 gold-gilded
domes including the 3 Chauchala (hut-shape) domes in the middle row, from
which it derives its curious name.