Places you should not miss in Dhaka

Places You Should Not Miss in Dhaka

Dhaka Sadarghat, also called Sadarghat Port, the Dhaka City River Front, located on the river Buriganga, is one of the most dynamic places in Dhaka. Here, the Sadarghat River Boat Terminal is one of the largest river ports in the world. Every hour, about 300 large and small motorized passenger river boats depart and arrive with an average of 500 passengers each at the terminal every day. According to the officials at the terminal, an average of 150,000 people, uses the terminal every day. At this place hundreds of country boats laden with passengers and merchandise cross the river.

Ahsan Manzil, also known as the Pink Palace due its bold coloring, was the official residential palace and seat of the Nawab of Dhaka. Construction was started in 1859 and was completed in 1872. It was constructed in the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture. In Mughal era, Sheikh Enayet Ullah had a garden house here then acquired a very big area and included it in his garden house. Here he built a beautiful palace and named it “Rongmohol” (Rangmahal). Around 1740, his son, Sheikh Matiullah, sold the property to French traders. In 1830 Khwaja Alimullah purchased he property form them. Alimullah renovated the property, turning the trading house into a residence and adding a stable and a family mosque. After his death, his son Khwaja Abdul Ghani named the property Ahsan Manzil after his on Khwaja Ahsanullah. He hired Martin and Company, a European construction and engineering firm, to make a master plan for their residence. After Ahsanullah’s death in 1901, the property again changes hands due in part to disagreements within the family. It became a slum for a period after the government acquired it in 1952 under the East Bengal Estate Acquisition Act. The Government of Bangladesh acquired the palace and property in 1985 and began renovating it. The ownership of the property was transferred to the Bangladesh National Museum in 1992 when the renovation work was completed.

Ahsan Manzil (Pink Palace) Visiting Hours:

During Summer (April – September)

Saturday – Wednesday: 10:30 AM – 05:30 PM

Friday: 03:00 PM – 07:30 PM

Off Day: Thursday

During Winter (October – March)

Saturday – Wednesday: 09:30 AM – 04:30 PM

Friday: 02:30 PM – 07:30 PM

Off Day: Thursday

During Ramadan

Saturday – Wednesday: 09:30 AM – 03:00 PM

Off Day: Thursday & Friday

Shankhari Bazaar, is one of the oldest areas in Old Dhaka. It stretches along a narrow lane, lined with richly decorated brick buildings, built during the late Mughal or Colonial period. The area belonged to the Shankhari Community (Hindu), who borrowed their name from Shankha, a decorated bangle crafted from slices of Shankha or conch shells. Shankha is the symbol that indicates that a Hindu woman is married. In the 17th century, the Shankhari people were brought by the Mughal emperor, who allotted this place to them for living which later known as Shankhar Bazaar.

Star Mosque, (also known as Tara Masjid) has ornate designs and is decorated with motifs of blue stars. It was built in the first half of the 19th century by Mirza Golam Pir (Mirza Ahmed Jan). Star Mosque was first built by Mirza Ghulam Pir, as a three-domed oblong edifice. But an over enthusiastic and zealous merchant named Ali Jan Bepari completely remodeled and reconstructed it with extremely delicate and richly colored tiles of variegated patterns.

Dhakeshwari National Temple, is a Hindu temple in Dhaka that is state-owned, giving it the distinction of being Bangladesh’s ‘National Temple.’ The name “Dhakeshwari” means “Goddess of Dhaka.” Since the destruction of Ramna Kali Mandir in 1971 by the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War, the Dhakeshwari Temple has assumed status as the most important Hindu place of worship in Bangladesh. It is also the largest Hindu temple in Bangladesh.

Shaheed Minar, (“The Martyr Tower”) is a national monument established to commemorate those killed during the Bengali Language Movement demonstrations of 1952 in what was then East Pakistan.On 21 and 22 February 1952, students from Dhaka University and Dhaka Medical College and political activists were killed when the Pakistani police force opened fire on Bengali protesters who were demanding official status for their native tongue, Bengali. A makeshift monument was erected on 23 February by students of Dhaka medical college and other educational institutions, but soon demolished on 26 February by the Pakistani police force.

Bangladesh National Museum, is well organized and displays have been housed chronologically in several departments like department of ethnography and decorative art, department of history and classical art, department of natural history, and department of contemporary and world civilization. The museum also has a rich conservation laboratory.

Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban or National Parliament Building, is the house of the Parliament of Bangladesh, located at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. Designed while the country was still part of Pakistan by architect Louis Kahn, the complex is one of the largest legislative complexes in the world, covering 200 acres (810,000 m2). The building was featured prominently in the 2003 film My Architect, detailing the career and familial legacy of its architect, Louis Kahn.

Lalbagh Fort, (also called Fort Aurangabad) is an incomplete 17th century Mughal fort complex that stands before the Buriganga River in the southwestern part of Dhaka. The construction was started in 1678 CE by Mughal Subahdar Muhammad Azam Shah who was son of Emperor Aurangzeb and later emperor himself. 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 excavations carried out by the Department of Archaeology of Bangladesh have revealed the existence of other structures.