Sonakanda fort

Sonakanda Fort a Mughal river-fort located on the eastern bank of the shitalakshya at Bandar, almost opposite hajiganj fort in Narayanganj district. A group of river forts, erected by the Mughals, guarded the water routes to Dhaka and other places of strategic importance and the Sonakanda Fort is one of them.

The fort, under the protection of the Department of Archaeology and Museums, has been restored and repaired several times. The defensive walls and the massive artillery platform are still in existence. It is quadrangular in plan, measuring 86.56m×57.0m and surrounded by a 1.06m thick brick-wall, 3.05m in height, with inner and intermediate bastions.

The wall is built solid at the bottom. There is a circular artillery platform with a staircase on the west side, which leads up to the raised artillery platform to be entered by a five-foil arched gateway. The artillery platform, meant for a big calibre cannon aiming at the attackers coming up the river, is a new feature of the Mughal river forts in Bengal.

The platform has two circles of which the inner is 15.70m and the outer is 19.35m in diameter respectively. It is 6.09m in height and surrounded by walls. The corner bastions on both sides of the western wing are wider than those of the eastern wing, which are 4.26m, while the two on the western wing are 6.85m in diameter.

The fort has two main parts; one is a fortified rampart wall of enormous dimension, which has numerous wide and narrow loopholes. And the other part, the most important one, is a raised outwork on the western face. Excepting the artillery platform, there is no trace of any permanent structure within the fortification walls. All round, the walls are crowned by machicolated merlons, which are on average one metre high.

 The fort is provided with a single entrance gate on the north. The arched gateway is placed within a rectangular frame and both the sides are decorated with several plastered panels. The lofty arch of the entrance gateway is of the four-centred variety. There are four corner bastions. Unlike the bastions of the forts at Hajiganj and Idrakpur the bastions of this fort are octagonal in plan.

 The fort is not dated by any inscription. Though the construction of this fort is attributed to mir jumla, there is no evidence for this. On stylistic similarities with other Mughal river-forts in and around Dhaka it is datable to the mid-17th century.

 The fort is not dated by any inscription. Though the construction of this fort is attributed to mir jumla, there is no evidence for this. On stylistic similarities with other Mughal river-forts in and around Dhaka it is datable to the mid-17th century.

Hajiganj Fort

 SITUATION:
Hajiganj Fort situated on the western bank of the Sitalakshya River at Hajiganj in Narayanganj.

 SHORT HISTORY:
According to Munsi Rahman Ali this Mughal fort was probably established during the time of Mir Jumla.  On the other hand Ahmed Hasan Dani on his “Muslim Architecture in Bengal” said that Islam Khan build the Fort after setting the capital at Dhaka. As there is no stone inscription found at Fort it’s still undecided who build it but Mughal use this fort to counter the raids of the Maghs and the Portuguese.


 STRUCTURE:
The fort, quadrangular in size, consists of a pentagonal curtain wall machicolated for muskets with rounded corner base stations, rampart wall around the wall inside, a free tall square column in a corner, and a gateway towards the river.

 HOW TO TRAVEL:
Some bus services available named Ananda poribohon, Asian, Utsob, have frequent bus services to Narayangonj. These bus stands are situated in Gulistan near National stadium. From Narayongonj sador Rickshaw are available to visit the fort which will take approx 10 BDT.

 Watch tower

 Inside watch tower

জাতীয় স্মৃতি সৌধ Jatio Sriti Shoudho or National Martyrs' Memorial

Jatiyo Sriti Soudho (Bengali: জাতীয় স্মৃতি সৌধ Jatio Sriti Shoudho) or National Martyrs' Memorial is a monument in Bangladesh. It is the symbol of the valour and the sacrifice of those killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, which brought the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistani rule. The monument is located in Savar, about 35km north-west of the capital, Dhaka.^[1] It was designed by Syed Mainul Hossain.

History

Plans for the monument were initiated right after the independence, in 1972. Following the site selection, road and land development, a nation-wide design competition was held in June, 1978. Following evaluation of the 57 submissions, Syed Mainul Hossain's design was chosen. The main structure and the artificial lake and other facilities were completed in 1982

Structure

The monument is composed of 7 isosceles triangular pyramid shaped structures, with the middle one being the tallest. The highest point of the monument is 150 feet. There is an artificial lake, and several mass graves in front of the main monument.National Martyrs' Memorial situated at Savar, about 35 km north-west of Dhaka, symbolises the valour and sacrifice of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Bangladesh. A national competition was held for the design of the project in June 1978. Among the fifty-seven competitors Architect Syed Moinul Hossain's design proposal was selected. The main monument is composed of seven isosceles triangular planes each varying in size in its height and base. The highest one has the smallest base while the broadest base has the lowest height. The planes are folded at the middle and placed one after another. The highest point of the structure reaches 150 feet. This unique arrangement of the planes has created a structure that seems to change its configuration when viewed from different angles. The architect has used concrete for the monument while all the other structures and pavements of the complex are made of red bricks. Use of different materials has added to the gravity of the monument.
The whole complex is spread over an area of 34 hectares (84 acres) which is again wrapped around by a green belt of 10 hectares (24.7 acre). Several mass-graves and a reflection water body are placed in front of the monument. Once one enters the complex through the main gate he or she can see the monument axially but to reach it one has to walk through different ups and downs of pavements and cross an artificial lake by a bridge-all these represent the struggle for independence.

The project was constructed in three phases. The first one, began in 1972, involved in acquiring land and constructing road for the project at a cos t of Tk 26 lacs. During the second phase, 1974 - 1982, Tk 3.77 crores were spent in order to build the mass-graves, helipad, parking space, pavements etc. In the third phase, began in August 1982, the main structure was built apart from the artificial lake, green belt, cafeteria, housing etc. The third phase required Tk 848.65 lacs. The Public Works Department of the Government of Bangladesh supervised the construction of the project. [Md Shahidul Amin and M Zakiul Islam]

Tara masjid

In a city well known for its numerous mosques, the Star Mosque (Tara Masjid) stands out as a sparkling jewel in the Armanitola area in the older part of the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Although the mosque has no inscription relating to the date of construction, it is known that the mosque was erected by the son of a prominent landowner (zaminder), Mirza Golam Pir who died in 1860. Therefore, it is generally agreed that the beautiful Star Mosque, which at that time was known as Mosque of Mirza Shaheb, was built in the first half of the 19th century.
The original Mughal architectural style mosque was a three-domed oblong structure with three mihrabs (prayer areas facing Mecca) in alignment with the three doorways of the mosque, with the central mihrab being larger than those flanking it. The prayer chamber was covered by three domes, with the central dome being taller and larger than the other two. Unlike the mosque as it stands today, there was very little in the way of decoration of the original building.
Alijan Bepari, a local businessman, made some changes to the Star Mosque in 1926. Along with some extensions, such as a verandah with five arches on the eastern side, he financed the resurfacing of the mosque with richly colored, delicate tiles in a variety of patterns. Extensive renovations and additions to the Star Mosque were undertaken in 1987 resulting in the five-domed mosque that exists today.
The Star Mosque gets its name from the fact that it is predominantly decorated with stars. The white marble domes are decorated with hundreds of blue stars that shine in the sunlight. Throughout the mosque the walls, columns, floors and ceilings are decorated with mosaics of flowers in vases, crescents, Arabic calligraphic writing and hundreds of stars, mostly made from small chips of Chinaware crockery and pieces of glass. This unusual and beautiful form of mosaic work is known as “Chini Tikri”.
In the hustle and bustle of the busy city of Dhaka, the serenely beautiful Star Mosque stands out as a symbol of Islam, the dominant religion of Bangladesh.