Lalbagh Fort

Lalbagh Fort (also Fort Aurangabad) is an incomplete 17th century Mughal fort complex that stands proudly before the Buriganga River in the southwestern part of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The construction was started in 1678 AD by Mughal Subahdar Muhammad Azam Shah who was son of Emperor Aurangzeb and later emperor himself. His successor, Shaista Khan, did not continue the work, though he stayed in Dhaka up to 1688.

History

Mughal prince Muhammad Azam, third son of Aurangzeb started the work of the fort in 1678 during his vice-royalty in Bengal. He stayed in Bengal for 15 months. The fort remained incomplete when he was called away by his father Aurangzeb. Shaista Khan was the new subahdar of Dhaka in that time, and he did not complete the fort. In 1684, the daughter of Shaista Khan named Iran Dukht Pari Bibi died there. After her death, he started to think the fort as unlucky, and left the structure incomplete. Among the three major parts of Lalbagh Fort, one is the tomb of Pari Bibi.

After Shaista Khan left Dhaka, it lost its popularity. The main cause was that the capital was moved from Dhaka to Murshidabad. After the end of the royal Mughal period, the fort became abandoned. In 1844, the area acquired its name as Lalbagh replacing Aurangabad, and the fort became Lalbagh Fort.

Structures

For long the fort was considered to be a combination of three buildings (the mosque, the tomb of Bibi Pari and the Diwan-i-Aam), with two gateways and a portion of the partly damaged fortification wall. Recent excavation
s carried out by the Department of Archaeology of Bangladesh have revealed the existence of other structures.

The southern fortification wall has a huge bastion in the southwestern corner. On the north of the south fortification wall were the utility buildings, stable, administration block, and its western part accommodated a beautiful roof-garden with arrangements for fountains and a water reservoir. The residential part was located on the east of the west fortification wall, mainly to the south-west of the mosque.

The fortification wall on the south had five bastions at regular intervals two stories in height, and the western wall had two bastions; the biggest one is near the main southern gate. The bastions had an underground tunnel.

The central area of the fort is occupied by three buildings - the Diwan-i-Aam and the hammam on its east, the Mosque on the west and the Tomb of Pari Bibi in between the two - in one line, but not at equal distance. A water channel with fountains at regular intervals connects the three buildings from east to west and north to south.

Diwani-i-Aam

Diwan-i-Aam is a two storied residence of the Mughal governor of Bengal located on the east site of the complex. A single storied hammam is attached on its west. The hammam portion has an underground room for boiling water. A long partition wall runs along the western facade of the hammam.

The building is situated about 39 meters (136’) to the west of the tank, running from north to south. The external measurements of the building are 32.47m x 8.18m (107’ x 29’). 

There are living quarters on each level of two stories and a main central hallway connecting them. There is a Hammamkhana (Bathhouse) in the southern part of the building which is one of the seventh Hammamkhana still existing in ruins in heritage of Bangladesh.

Recent excavations (1994–2009) show that there was a special room below the room of Hammamkhana, where archeologists found the arrangements for heating water, supplying the hot water as well as cool water to the Hammamkhana through the terracotta pips which was especially manufactured for such purpose. The discovery of black spots in the underground room proof that fire had been used for the purpose of heating the water for the Hammamkhana. There was also a toilet room by the side of Hammamkhana.

All the building along with the arrangements of Hammamkhana clearly shows that it was very much in use by the Subadar of Bengal and that Subadar was Shaista Khan. From the report of the Governor of English Factory it was learned that Shaista Khan used to live in this room and some Europeans were kept in custody here.

A water tank

A square shaped water tank (71.63m on each side) is placed to the east of the Diwan-i-Aam. There are four corner stairs to descend into the tank.

Tomb of Bibi Pari

The tomb of Bibi Pari, the daughter of Shaista Khan, is in the middle of the complex. There is a central square room. It contains the remains of Bibi Pari covered by a false octagonal dome and wrapped by brass plate. The entire inner wall is covered with white marble. Eight rooms surround the central one. There is another small grave in the southeastern corner room

Stories

From the time of construction till date, various myths have revolved around the fort. Among all the historical stories and debates, it is widely believed that Lalbagh Fort stands as a monument of the unfulfilled dreams of Prince Muhammad Azam, beloved son of Emperor Aurangzeb. In the mid 17th century, he was serving as the Viceroy of Bengal and began the construction of the impressive Lalbagh Fort complex.

Therefore the popular stories about the fort begin. Before the construction was finished, Prince Azam was called back to his father, to assist in the war against the Marathas. Legend says, after the Mughal prince departed, Shaista Khan continued with building the project, but upon the untimely death of his much-loved daughter Iran-Dukht, warmly known as Pari Bibi, the construction was stopped. Bibi was engaged to Prince Azam at the time of her death.

There are also legends and debates about the identity of Pari Bibi. Few researchers claim she was a nine-year-old Ahom princess. Mir Jumals Ahom’s expedition brought a war adjoining the Garo hills. He took the daughter of Ahom Raja to compel him for the full execution of the previous peace treaty. Later, the emperor made her convert to Islam and married her off to prince Azam. However, overshadowing all the debates, people now believe that she was the loving daughter of Nawab Shaista Khan.

Important facts

Archeologists after a recent excavation discover continuity of the main fort
walls towards east below Shaishta Khan Road and opine that the present area of Qilla only represents half portion as planned by Prince Azam Khan. The gate at south east of Fort (adjacent to Lalbagh Shahi Masjid) as per requirement fits properly as the Central Gate in the middle of Fort, the other half on east- likely palnned for administrative purpose (Girde Qilla area)- were incomplete or extinct long ago.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park is an outstanding tourist spot in Bangladesh. The largest safari park of Asia. It is new and attractive visiting place. Everybody will be satisfied making a tour at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park.

 

Location

The Park is in Gazipur district which is just near to Dhaka city. At first, you have to go to Gazipur Chourasta. Then go forward along the Mymensingh road and come to Bagher Bazar. After that you have to choose the path of west side. You have to use rickshaw or CNG as transports to reach at the park. Bangabandhu Safari Park is three kilometers away from that place.

 

 

Difference between zoo and safari park

Zoo is the place where people are free and the animals are confined. On the hand, the environment is opposite in a safari park in which jungle environment is maintained. 

Inside of Safari Park

After getting inside the park, you will see tiger, lion, kangaroo and even dinosaur.  But these are not alive. All of these animals are sculptures indeed for welcoming the visitors. The whole park is consist of about 4000 acres of land. At present, 31 local and international species of animals are seen here.

You can start your visiting with “Tiger Restaurant”. It is a big and safe restaurant surrounded with glasses so that you can see the roaring tigers and take coffee or tea. The workers of the park can call the tigers and they respond to him. Your feeling will be that you are watching National Geographic or Animal Planet channel. After that you can start visiting with using microbus.

Now, come to the kingdom of lions. You can talk to them as you like. But never try to open the window of the microbus. If you see white lion, then you will be lucky enough. In fact, the lions move with vanity.

Move your transport forward to see more. You will see bear, deer, zebra, African wildebeest and more. The elephants are adorable. They will salute you according to the order of worker of the park.

You can watch ziraffs going to nearer to them. Don’t disturb them and take some snaps. You have to use transport for moving and visiting some areas. You should walk watching the other areas.

You will be happy seeing macao birds. If you wish, you can take a snap with this macao keeping on your shoulder. But, keep safe your ears. Grey parrots are very much attractive.

Another great area of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park is Fancy Ducks Garden. You will see a lake here. Get on a boat and watch big black swans, white swans etc. Try to look at the beauty of various kinds of birds.

Never forget to visit the areas of crocodile, vulture, emu, ostrich etc. Make a visit to see python and various reptiles. It will be enjoyable if you see peacock.

Additional Info
Entry fee: TK 50/per adult (age below 5 free)
Food: Inside park (light food available)
Weekend: Tuesday

Lawacherra Rain Forest

Lawacherra Rain Forest, Sylhet is one of the most well-preserved &the important forests in Bangladesh. It is the perfect place where you will get to see rich flora and fauna of the valley of Sylhet.Today the Lawacherra Rain Forest in sanctuaries and national parks, collectively known as Protected Areas are the best place to see green Bangladesh. Lawachara rain forest is one of the major national park/sanctuary/reserve in Bangladesh. In 1997 Bangladesh government declared it A National Park.

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Hoolock gibbons is one seriously endangered higher primate in Bangladesh. And also Slow Loris, Pig-tailed Macaque, Rhesus Macaque, Assamese Macaque, Capped Langur, Phayre’s Leaf-monkey, Jackal, Wild Dog, Sloth Bear or Himalayan Black Bear, Yellow-throated Marten, Tiger, Fishing Cat, Leopard Cat, Wild Pig, Sambar, Barking Deer, Indian Giant, wile bore and even King Cobra settle their presence. Local elders speak of leopards roaming the jungle, but those have long been extinct. Birds of different species are found here. Khasia, Monipuri, tripura are the main inhabitants of this forest. They have rich cultural and religious heritage. It’s also tourist attraction. They make their villages high on hilltop in deep forest and so far from town.

Lawacherra Rain Forest is a two hour drive from Sylhet. Getting Lawachara NP from Dhaka, daily bus services are available from Dhaka to Srimongal every hour and take about 3.5 hour. Accommodation facilities are abundant in Srimongal. Facilities include entry-level Tea Town Guest House, mid level Sandya Hotel and high-end Tea Resort. Lodging is also available at BTRI Rest House. Here you will find suitable accommodation. The mini bungalows of the Tea Research Institute are available.

National Botanical Garden

The National Botanical Garden of Bangladesh, also referred to as Bangladesh National Herbarium, is the largest plant conservation center in Bangladesh, with an area of around 84 hectares (210 acres). It is located at Mirpur in Dhaka, beside the Dhaka Zoo. It was establishes in 1961. It is one of the greatest botanical gardens of Bangladesh and a tourist destination. Baldha Garden in the Wari area of Dhaka is administratively part of the National Garden.

   

Collections

Bangladesh National Herbarium's collection of plant and tree species is large. The garden houses about 56,000 individual of trees, herbs, and shrubs including huge collection of aquatic plants. Rare and exotic plant species in the garden include:

• Anthurium (Anthurium crystallinum) 
•  Camphor (Cinamomum camphora)
• Rabbit fern (Davallia canariensis)
• Dambia (Dombeya spectabilis)
• White rangan (Ixora superba)
•  Little mussanda (Mussaenda luteola)
• Victoria amazonica
• Harhjora (Vitis quadrangularis)
•  African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata)
• Sambucuas (Sambucus nigra)
• White Chandan (Santalum album).

 

Other facilities

A modern vegetative propagation arrangement and a tissue culture laboratory have been established in the garden for propagation of rare species. Initially, tissue culture of orchids and other rare species have been adopted. Besides, a huge rose garden, criss-crossing lake, watch deck, artificial water fall, bridge over the lake and above all the thousands of migratory birds in winter are the main attractions of the National Botanical Garden.

Maintenance

The garden is well planned and provides learning and recreational facilities adjacent to the Dhaka Zoo. It is divided into 57 sections, and is managed by Forest Department under Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of Bangladesh.

Ahsan Manzil

Ahsan Manzil (Bengali: আহসান মঞ্জিল) was the official residential palace and seat of the Dhaka Nawab Family. This magnificent building is situated at Kumartoli along the banks of the Buriganga River in Bangladesh. The construction of this palace was started in the year 1859 and was completed in 1869. It is constructed in the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture. To preserve the cultural and history of the area, the palace became the Bangladesh National Museum on 20 September 1992.

History: In mughal period, there was a garden house of Sheikh Enayet Ullah, the landlord of Jamalpur porgona (district), in this place. Sheikh Enayet Ullah was a very charming person. He acquired a very big area in Kumartuli and included in his garden house. Here he built a beautiful palace and named it “Rangmahal”. He used to enjoy here keeping beautiful girls collecting from the country and abroad, dressing them with gorgeous dresses and expensive ornaments. There is a saying that, the foujdar of Dhaka (representative of mughal emperor) in that time was attracted to one of the beautiful girls among them. He invited Sheikh Enayet Ullah in a party one night and killed him in a conspiracy when he was returning home. That girl also committed suicide in anger and sorrow. There was a one doomed cemetery of Sheikh Enayet Ullah in the north-east corner of the palace yard, which was ruined in the beginning of 20th century.

In that time, the French became very wealthy doing business here in competition with the English and other European companies. They made a big palace and dug a pond for sweet water in the newly purchased property. The pond still exists in the compound of Ahsan Manjil, which was called “Les Jalla” in that time. In the English-French war, French got defeated and all their properties was captured by the English. In the 22nd June of 1757, the French left the trading house with a fleet of 35 boats from the river station of Buriganga in front of Kumartuli.

In 1785, the French transferred the property to a French tradesman named Mr. Champigni, and retaken it at 1801. According to Paris agreement of 1814, the French claimed all their left properties at Dhaka, and in 1827 the property was again returned to the French. For the increasing power of the English, the French was forced to left subcontinent. They decided to sell all their properties in Dhaka. So in 1830, the trading house of Kumartuli was purchased by the established landlord of Dhaka Khwaja Alimullah.

After some renovation work, the trading house became the residence of Khwaja Alimullah. In his time, a stable and a family mosque was added in the compound. After his death, his son Khwaja Abdul Gani made a great prosper to the property, and named it “Ahsan Manjil” on his son Ahsan Ullah. In the east side of the old building, he made a new building with a different design, and also done great renovation work to the old building. Since then, the old building was called “Ondor Mohol” and the new building was called “Rong mohol”.

In the evening of 7 April 1888, a great tornado hit Dhaka city causing great damage. Ahsan Manjil was greatly damaged and abandoned. An English engineer from Kolkata arrived here to examine the palace. He gave opinion that except the “Rangmahal”, all other parts of the palace have to reconstruct. So Khwaja Abdul Gani and his son Ahsanullah turned their full attention to reconstruct the palace. Both of the building was reconstructed during that time with a new design made and supervised by the local engineer Gobinda Chandra Roy.

Description and Construction

Ahsan Manzil has now been converted into a museum and a popular tourist attraction of old Dhaka.

Ahsan Manzil is one of the most significant architectural monuments of Bangladesh. The building structure was established on a raised platform of 1 meter, the two-storied palace measures 125.4m by 28.75m. The height of the ground floor is 5 meters and the height of the first floor 5.8 meters. The thickness of the walls of the palace is about 0.78 meters. There are porticos of 5 meters height on the northern and southern sides of the palace. The building has a broad front-facing the Buriganga River. On the river side, an open spacious stairway leads right up to the second portal and on their stands the grand triple- arched portals. There was once a fountain in the garden in front of the stairs which does not exist today. All along the north and the south side of the building run spacious verandahs with an open terrace projected in the middle.

The palace Ahsan Manzil is divided into two parts: the eastern side and western side. The eastern building with the dome is called the Rangmahal and the western side with the living rooms is called Andarmahal. The high octagonal dome is placed on the central round room. There is a large drawing room, card room, library, state room and two other guest rooms are located on the east side of the palace. The ballroom, the Hindustani room and few residential rooms are situated on the western side. A beautiful vaulted artificial ceiling, made of wood, decorates the drawing room and the Jalsaghar. A splendid dining hall and few smaller rooms are placed on the west part. The floors of the dining and darbar halls are decorated with white, green and yellow colored ceramic tiles. The famous store room, where the valuables of the nawabs used to be stored, was in the middle of the five rooms located in the western half of the ground floor. Along with those rooms a Darbar Hall or assembly hall and a chest room is also place there.

Glory days

Nawab Sir Salimullah with his family in front of Ahsan ManzilIn 1874, Lord Northbrook, Governor General of India attended an evening function in the palace when he came to lay the foundation of a water works installed by Nawab Abdul Ghani. In 1888, Lord Dufferin also accepted the hospitality offered at Ahsan Manzil. In 1904 Lord Curzon, on a visit to East Bengal, stayed in this palace on 18 and 19 February to win public support for the proposed Partition of Bengal.

Ahsan Manzil, an architectural treasure, is a witness to many historical events of Bangladesh. From the last part of the 19th century to the initial years of Pakistan, the Muslim leadership of East Bengal emerged from this palace. The nawabs of Dhaka used to conduct their court affairs here as chief of the panchayet (village council) everyday. Many anti-Congress meetings were held here under the patronization of Nawab Ahsanullah, a staunch believer in Muslim identity. Almost all the Viceroys, Governors and Lieutenant Governors of British India who visited Dhaka spent some time at the Ahsan Manzil. Almost all political activities of Nawab Khwaja Salimullah centred round this palace. Ahsan Manzil was the cradle of the All India Muslim League. With the decline of the Nawabs of Dhaka, Ahsan Manzil also started to decline.

Renovation

Recognizing the historical and architectural importance of the Ahsan Manzil, the government of Bangladesh took the initiative to renovate it. In 1985 Ahsan Manzil and its surroundings were acquired. After the completion of the renovation work in 1992 under the supervision of the Directorate of Public Works and Architecture, it was brought under the control of Bangladesh National Museum (20 September 1992). A museum has been established there. Considering the historical importance and architectural significance of Ahsan Manzil palace, the government was trying to conserve it since the later part of the Pakistani rule. The father of nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman canceled its auction proposal option. On November 2, 1974, he ordered to establish a museum and tourist center after its proper conservation.