Sadi Mosque

The Chandamari mosque in Kurigram is an ancient Mughal mosque that has been around for centuries. However, the mosque is falling inexorably into ruin due to acid rain and lack of proper maintenance. The mosque is situated in the village of Chandamari in Chakirpasha union under the Rajarhat Upazila in the district of Kurigram. No one knows the exact year the mosque was built or who built it. The locals consider it the oldest mosque in the area, at approximately five hundred years old. The architecture of the mosque is very similar to that of other buildings dating back to the Mughal times. It should be mentioned that there is no department of archaeology in the district. Should archaeologists visit the mosque and perform carbon dating experiments, its year of foundation may be pinpointed.

During a visit to the site, local man Abdul Zalil Sarker and President of the Mosque Committee Jakir Hossen Chowdhury told Star Insight that perhaps future generations will know the exact age of the mosque. "It was built in the 16th or 17th century. It bears some similarities to the structure of the Atia mosque (1609 AD) in Tangail," a local historian said. Local sources say that though there are 52 decimals of land in the mosque's name, whilst it is established on only five decimals. The height of the mosque is 45”. There are three large, four medium and twenty-four small domes on top, the four corners and around the mosque respectively. Nine of smaller domes have been damaged.

This mosque, however, is not one of a kind. Hundreds of old buildings with ample antique value and rich heritage are crumbling due to lack of care while others are even being deconstructed. The issue seems to be ignored completely by authorities despite plenty of public interest and protest.

The mosque was made with flat tally bricks, which were cemented together with a kind of paste called Bhishkas. The thickness of walls, roof and domes are 4”. From a long period of continued carelessness, a crack had formed in the center of the 3 large domes. Being unfit, the middle dome was reduced by ½ feet and repaired by the mosque committee, who also built a tin-shed porch in front of the mosque.

This is known as Dhuni Chawk Mosque (ধুনি চক মসজিদ) and located at Shibganj (শিবগঞ্জ) of Chapai Nawabganj (চাপাই নবাবগঞ্জ) district of Bangladesh. Near the area of Sona Mosque (সোনা মসজিদ), there are few more archaic edifices available, this mosque is one of those.

This is a six domed mosque. It was completely dilapidated and only few walls were available. But the government totally renovated this mosque recently. There is no road available to reach near to the mosque. You have to walk through the mango garden and beside the fields. You have to rely on your GPS (24°49'54.71"N, 88° 9'1.17"E) device, or the local villagers to be you on the correct route.

No inscription was found near the mosque to know its age. The people who lived near the mosque at past were cotton carder in occupation. In Bengali, the cotton carder means Dhuni (ধুনি). Using this word, later the mosque was named as Dhuni Chawk Mosque (ধুনি চক মসজিদ).

Mahisantosh Mosque located near the India-Bangladesh edge about 13 km northern western of Dhamorihat Thana Sadar in Naogaon place. Mahisantosh, known from Pre-Muslim periods, came to reputation during the guideline of Sultan Ruknuddin Barbak shah (1459-1474) who raised its place to an excellent town and known as it Barbakabad after him. Many traditional hemorrhoids, located in different places of the town, can still be monitored. In 1916 the varendra analysis team conducted a traditional excavation at Mahisantosh in the remains of the Jami Masjid heap. A little element of the mosque was exposed. Very lately individuals, after removing weeds, vegetation and junk of the Jami Masjid heap have developed up a new chauchala tin shade kacha creating on the old ranking of the mosque to perform Sunday desires. From the present remains it is still possible to recover the exclusive design of the mosque.

The 2.25m large materials of the rectangle-shaped mosque (24m X 16.20m externally) with semi-octagonal place techniques at the four aspects were designed of rock and bricks; the main was designed of rocks and the inner and external activities were secured with rock places. The top aspect act was provided with five (arched) doorways. Most probably the main one was larger than the flanking ones. There were three (arched) areas each on the south east aspect of and southern region aspects.

The inner of the mosque (19.50m X 11.70m) was divided by two selections of rock assistance supports, each having four assistance supports. Each main was status on an office rock foundation. The foundation of each main was divided into three sections: the decreased place, about 0.40m, was rectangle-shaped shape with pie design on its face; the middle element, about 1.55m, was decagonal with pattern and gong components and the greater element, about 0.96m, was polygonal (16 sided) with pattern and gong components and suspended pearl-string of 50% team design.

The main nave of the mosque, larger than the element ones, had three rectangle-shaped places and was perhaps secured over by Persia chauchala bins. Hemispherical domes, 12 in all, might have secured the element chicken wings. Thus the ceiling top program was almost just like that of the shatgumbad mosque at Bagerhat (1459 AD).

There are five mihrabs in the Qibla materials invert the top side aspect possibilities. The main mihrab, a little bit larger than the element ones, was removed from here and is now managed in the varendra analysis collection. Originally it was designed from 1 product of rock with amazing eye-catching schemes; pattern and gong, lotus and palmetto are its main ingredients. The extant mihrab at the southern region end also contains amazing developed design. It seems to have been designed of three places of rock. The main element of the mihrab industry is developed with attractive pattern and gong art work. On the element of the pattern is suspended a hand crafted series. A complete bloomed lotus weighs from the end of the pattern. The sidepieces of the rock places have geometric styles in round and rectangle-shaped shape types. The rosettes in the top and platform increase the beauty of the mihrab. It may be described here that the pattern and gong design, a very familiar eye-catching program, is also seen in mosques like darasbari, chhota sona and kusumba.

Stone-blocks calming propagate in and around the mosque involved eye-catching components on their activities. These developed stone-blocks indicate that the external outside of the materials of the mosque may have been developed with rock styles. The attractive devices are mostly geometric in design with flowery styles, palmette, nailheads, pie styles, look for components, pattern and gong components and suspended 50 % round jewelry. Some developed clay-based rocks were also exposed at a lot of period of removing junk. These clay-based rocks might have been used on the inner encounter of the drums equipment of the domes. Similar eye-catching program is seen in other mosques e.g., Darasabari, Chhota Sona and Kusumba.

When the Varendra Research Community conducted excavation on the website they discovered an epigraph product. It authorized the growth of a mosque during the guideline of Alauddin Husain shah in 912 AH/1506 AD. Very lately, another epigraph product was exposed at a lot of period of removing junk from the mosque. Currently it is calming before aspect of the lately designed kacha mosque creating. The epigraph contains two selections of writing and is developed on dark-colored basalt rock. It keep in mind the development of a mosque in a lot of period of Sultan Ruknuddin Barbak Shah by Ulugh Khan Hasan in the 867 AH/1463 AD.

Growth of these two individual from the same ruinous mosque improves some issues about the period of your energy and energy of growth of the mosque. Was the mosque developed in a lot of period of Sultan Barbak Shah or during a lot of period of Alauddin Husain Shah? Was it developed in a lot of period of Barbak Shah and therefore redesigned (or reconstructed) during the guideline of Alauddin Husain Shah? Or, was one of these two individual collected from outside and kept in the mosque when the mosque was in an amazing condition of preservation? It is not possible to figure out any of the above possibilities. It is, however, quite likely that the mosque was developed during the guideline of Sultan Barbak Shah in 867 AH (1463 AD) and knowledgeable a renovating during a lot of period of Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah in 912 AH (1506 AD).

Mirzapur Jame Mosque is located in Mirzapur about six kilometer far away from Atwari subdistrict on the Atwari-Panchagarh road of Panchagar district.

An inscription wrote in Persian language on the eastern wall of the Masjid provide its reconstruction and reparation by one Shaikh Malik-Uddin in 1252 BS (1831 AD). But nobody don’t know its actual construction date. Recently Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh taking care of this Masjid. There are two ancient graves to the south side of the mosque and north-east side stands an old well. The mosque has three domes, an open courtyard (17meter / 14meter) surrounded by wall. Access gate room of the courtyard (4.12m / 2.12m with 0.60m thick wall) is situated its east middle side. The gate room covered by sloping four-ways roof.

The mosque is rectangular externally length is 13m width is 5.40m with 3 entry doors on the east and 3 mihrabs on the west wall inside. The middle door and the middle mihrab are bigger than the others, which are of same size and height. There is 2 window in the center of the south and north walls. On the roof there are four towers four corners of the masjid. The walls outside are now whitewashed and the terracotta plaques are painted red creating a very colorful exterior.