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4) HERITAGE-
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.: SUNDERBANS
The largest mangrove forest in the world |
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Located about 320 km. south-west of Dhaka and spread over an area of about 60000 sq. km of deltaic swamps along the coastal belt of Khulna, Bangladesh's Sundarbans (beautiful forests) is famous for the world's largest expanse of mangrove forest, and the home of the Royal Bengal tiger. These dense mangrove forests are criss-crossed by a network of rivers and creeks.
Tourists find tides flowing in two directions in the same creek and often tigers swimming across a river or huge crocodiles basking in the sun. Other wildlife of the region includes the cheetahs, beautiful spotted deer, monkeys, pythons, wild bears and hyenas. The forest is accessible by river from Khulna or from Mongla. There are rest-houses for visitors to stay and enjoy the unspoiled beauty and splendour of the forest.
Sundarbans importance is recognised by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site and as one of the last refuse for the majestic Royal Bengal Tiger. Sundarbans has the potential to offer splendid opportunities for tourism. The main tourist spots inside the Sundarbans include Hiron Point (Nilkamal), Katka and Tri Kona Island. These places offer the best vantage points for watching tigers, deer, monkeys, crocodiles and birds. Another major attraction inside the Sundarbans is Dublachar (island), a fishing village. Herds of spotted deer often come to graze here.
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.: Paharpur
Best known Buddhist vihara in south asia |
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Paharpur is a small village 5 km west of Jamalganj railway station in the greater Rajshahi district where the remains of the most important and the largest known monastery, south of the Himalayas has been excavated. This 8th century AD archaeological finds covers approximately an area of 27 acres of land. The entire establishment, occupying a quadrangular court, measuring more than 900 ft. and from 12 ft to 15 ft in height with elaborate gateway complex on the north, there are 45 cells on the north and 44 in each of other three sides with a total number of 177 rooms.
The architecture of the pyramidal cruciform temple is profoundly influenced by those of south-east Asia, especially Myanmar and Java. It had taken its name from a high mound, which like Pahar or hillock. A site museum houses the representative collection of objects recovered from the area. The excavated findings have also been preserved at the Varendra Research Museum at Rajshahi. The antiquities of the museum include terracotta plaque, images of different gods and goddesses, potteries, coins inscriptions, ornamental bricks and other minor clay objects. Paharpur has been inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1985.
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.: Shat Gombuj Mosque
Sixty Dome Mosque |
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In mid-15th century, a Muslim colony was founded in the inhospitable mangrove forest of the Sundarbans near the sea coast in the Bagerhat district by an obscure saint-General, named Ulugh Khan Jahan. He was the earliest torch bearer of Islam in the South who laid the nucleus of an affluent city during the reign of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah (1442-59), then known as 'Khalifatabad' (present Bagerhat).
Khan Jahan adorned his city with numerous mosques, tanks, roads and other public buildings, the spectacular ruins of which are focused around the most imposing and largest multi-domed mosques in Bangladesh, known as the Shatt-Gumbud Masjid (160'x108'). The stately fabric of the monument, serene and imposing, stands on the eastern bank of an unusually vast sweet-water tank, clustered around by the heavy foliage of a low-laying countryside, characteristic of a sea-coast landscape.
The mosque roofed over with 77 squat domes, including 7 chauchala or four-sided Pitched Bengali domes in the middle row. The vast prayer hall, although provided with 11 arched doorways on east and 7 each on north and south for ventilation and light, presents a dark and sombre appearance inside. It is divided into 7 longitudinal aisles and 11 deep days by a forest of slender stone columns, from which springs rows of endless arches, supporting the domes. Six feet thick, slightly tapering walls and hollow and round, almost detached corner towers, resembling the bastions of fortress, each capped by small rounded cupolas, recall the Tughlaq architecture of Delhi. The general appearance of this noble monument with its stark simplicity but massive character reflects the strength and simplicity of the builder.
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