Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[name] => Kismat-Maria Mosque
[post_id] => 9282
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/kismat-maria-mosque/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/kismat-maria-mosque-durgapur-rajshahi-12-300x225.jpg
[post_content] =>
Kismat-Maria Mosque (কিসমত-মারিয়া মসজিদ) is the academic name, where local people knows this as Durgapur mosque (দুর্গাপুর মসজিদ). The mosque is located at the Maria (মারিয়া) village, adjacent to village Kismat (কিসমত), that's why it is called Kismat-Maria Masjid.
It is totally unknown about any sort of historical information. No inscription available at the doorway or anywhere. Even the government doesn't have any document or info regarding this. To add insult to the injury, the local people cannot remember anything about this mosque either. It’s a total mystery.
It is certain that the mosque was built several hundred years back. It is having three domes at the top. Four ornate pillars at the four sides of the mosque. Eastern side of the mosque is having three entrances. The mosque is built over a 2-3 feet of high base. The domes of the mosque is similar to the Kartalab Khan's Mosque at Old Dhaka.
The mosque has a small house type of building at the southern side. This is another great archaeological object from our Bangladesh.
)
[1] => Array
(
[name] => Pal Bari
[post_id] => 8538
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/pal-bari/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/PB-2-300x225.jpg
[post_content] =>
Pal Bari (পাল বাড়ি) is one of the renowned historical places in Munshiganj. According to the current inhabitants of the Pal House at Abdullahpur, Kamini Pal and Dwarkanath Pal, the eldest two sons of Tokani Prasad Pal, possibly one of the richest business persons of Bikrampur, established this house around the end of the 19th century.
They added a few more blocks to the house over the years, but lived within the compounds of their father's house, several miles away.
During the liberation war, many of their family members were brutally tortured and killed, prompting the entire clan to leave for Kolkata,India. A few years later Dwarkanath returned, to wind up his businesses here. Dwarkanath Pal, therefore chose to spend his last few years at this house. He decided to stay back in Munshiganj, but could not live in his own house. Many others had occupied most of that property.
)
[2] => Array
(
[name] => Betila House: The Forgotten Palace of Manikganj
[post_id] => 17193
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/betila-house/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Betila-House-2-300x163.jpg
[post_content] =>
The Betila (বেতিলা) House in Manikganj was built about a century ago by Jyoti Babu (জ্যোতি বাবু) and Satya Babu (সত্য বাবু), a couple of affluent merchants involved in the trade of Jute, the golden fibre of Bangladesh. This palatial house is located in a remote area named Betila which is within the parameters of the modern day Manikganj proper. Explorers/travelers searching for heritage sites in Manikganj over the internet may come across several links of the famous Baliati Zamindar’s Palace but never find any links on Betila. This is primarily because the Betila House was not a Zamindar’s (Land Owner) palace, and secondly since it is located in such a remote area, people hardly know about it. Rich people of those era are known to build such palatial houses in remote areas and live lavish lives, even though they were not 'Zamindars' or royalty.
For someone looking for heritage sites, the Betila Mitra Union of Manikganj would be a fabulous one to come across. It’s situated in semi rural setting (being not too distant from urban areas) and doesn't seem particularly unique on first impression but once you begin to explore it's culture and heritage, beautiful places like the Betila House amongst several others begin to surface. The seemingly tame Betila Canal runs across the area, connecting two major rivers Kaliganga (কালিগঙ্গা) and Dhaleshwari (ধলেশ্বরী) but like most waterways of Bangladesh, one can anticipate its ferocity in full monsoon season when rising water levels which is also evident in the way it has eroded both its banks, specially at the lone bridge that was constructed some time back.
On both the banks one will come across a series of heritage buildings, the pinnacle being on the eastern bank, the Betila Palatial house surrounded by rich foliage. It’s a combined structure of two separate buildings both of which are two-storied, standing almost intact, side by side and with an expansive open field before them.
)
[3] => Array
(
[name] => Tengor Shahi Jame Mosque
[post_id] => 8140
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/tengor-shahi-jame-mosque/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/P_20150520_173352-169x300.jpg
[post_content] =>
Tengor Shahi Jame Mosque is a single-domed square shaped mosque and built entirely of brick.Through the analysis of An Arabic inscription, originally fixed over the central archway of eastern wall, can now be found fixed to an enclosure wall of a nearby newly built mosque, locally known as Pashchimpada masjid (mosque). According to the inscription, the Rikabi Bazar Mosque was built by one Malik Abdullah Miah, son of Amin Khan Fakir Miah, in 1569 AD during the reign of Sultan sulaiman karrani.
The walls of this mosque are about 2.13m thick.There were four corner-towers in the four exterior angles of the building, but these were removed at the time of renovation work. The mosque has five arched-doorways, three in the east and one each on the north and south sides. The north and south doors are now used as windows. All the arches are of the two-centered pointed variety. The central archway in the east is bigger than the flanking ones. Corresponding to the three eastern archways there are three renovated semi-circular mihrabs inside the qibla wall that are set within rectangular frames. Like the central doorway, the central mihrab is bigger than its flanking counterparts. The north and south walls have two alcoves on either side of the archway. The square prayer hall of the mosque is covered with a large brick shouldered dome, which rests on the four blocked arches over the central mihrab and the three axial doorways springing from the brick pilasters, two inside each wall, in combination with Bengali pendentives and half-domed squinches on the upper angles.
Architectural Features: Architectural features of this mosque include massive walls, a large dome, two-centered pointed archways and a dome supported by blocked arches springing from brick pilanters in combination with pendentive and half-domed squinches. These are very feature similar to the Goaldi Mosque in sonargaon and baba saleh’s mosque in Bandar, both in narayanganj district
An octagonal drum can be seen externally in the lower part of the dome. The parapets and the inner side of the dome is decorated with rows of blind merlons, and each rectangular frame of the three mihrabs is crowned by a frieze of blind merlons. These are not original ornamentations. The outer walls of the mosque were once ornamented with terracotta plaques, but now these are all missing. The mosque is at present covered with cement plaster.
)
)
