Once a sunny day of Dhaka when I was wandering through the narrow and crowded streets of old Dhaka(I was then a new comer) then suddenly a royal colorful palace emerged in front of me without any notice. To my great astonishment I discovered myself before the famous historical architecture "Ahsan Manzil". Ahsan Manzil undergone a varied history was the official residential palace and seat of the Dhaka Nawab Family. It is situated on the banks of the Buriganga River in Bangladesh. The palace is now a museum. It is constructed in the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture.Ahsan Manzil starting from being Rang Mahal (of Sheikh Enayetullah, a Zamindar of Jamalpur pargana (Barisal) during the time of the Mughals) to a French trading centre was named by Abdul Ghani after his son Nawab Khwaja Ahsanullah. Nawab Khwaja Alimullah bought it from the French in 1830 and converted it into his residence, effecting necessary reconstruction and renovations. The final reconstruction was done by Martin.After maintaining long glory days by the successors of Nawab-Ahsan Manzil started to decline from 1952 due to financial constraints of successors when it was acquired under the East Bengal Estate Acquisition Act.The palace was soon on the verge of collapse as successors rented out rooms without considering its dignity. Over the years illegal occupants turned the place into a filthy slum.
In 1985 Ahsan Manzil and its surroundings were acquired. After the completion of the renovation work in 1992 under the supervision of the Directorate of Public Works and Architecture, it was brought under the control of Bangladesh National Museum (20 September 1992). A museum has been established there.Ahsan Manzil is one of the most significant architectural monuments of Bangladesh. Established on a raised platform of 1 metre, the two-storied palace measures 125.4 m by 28.75 m. The height of the ground floor is 5 metres and that of the first floor 5.8 metres. There are porticos the height of the ground floor, both on the northern and southern sides of the palace. An open spacious stairway comes down from the southern portico, extending onto the bank of the river through the front garden. There was once a fountain in the garden in front of the stairs, that does not exist today. The spacious north and south verandas of both the floors rest on semicircular arches. The verandas and rooms are covered with marble.
To construct the dome of Ahsan Manzil, the square room on the ground floor was given a round shape with brickwork in the corners. The room was then given an octagonal shape near the roof by squinches. This octagonal shape took the form of the drum of the dome. Finally, the kumud kali (buds of lotus) shaped dome was constructed by gradually slanting the eight corners to the peak. The dome is 27.13 m above the ground. Ahsan Manzil is one of those architectures of Bangladesh which hold the age old history of this land. So don't forget to visit this palace if you ever been in Dhaka.
The great Muslim traveler Ibn Battuta visited Sonargaon in the 14th century and astonished to see the luxurious and romantic capital of great Isa Khan's kingdom in Bengal and I visiting Sonargaon in 2008 became nostalgic to see the ruined and shabby city. sonargaon the ancient capital of Isa Khan is located near the current-day city of Narayanganj.As the capital of the fifteenth-century Bengal ruler Isa Khan, and once an important trading and political center, Sonargaon boasts architecture of the Sultanate, Mughal, and colonial periods. The Sonargaon historic city, located near the present-day capital of Dhaka, includes several Mughal monuments—among them the Sonakanda River Fort, the Panch Pir Mazar Shrine, and Ibrahim's and Abdul Hamid's Mosque. British colonial architecture preserved in Sonargaon includes the Ananda Mohan Piddar House, and other street-front houses. For travelers making their way along the 2,500-kilometer Grand Trunk Road from Peshawar in the Hindu Kush, Sonargaon marked the end of the line.
Old Sonargaon can be found near Narayanganj and Dhaka, cities in Bangladesh, and is considered one of the first and oldest capitals of Bengal. Sonargaon was known as “The City of Panam” and was a focal part of the renowned Deva Dynasty until the thirteenth century. Mainly middle or upper class people inhabited Sonargaon during that time period.
After the thirteenth century Sonargaon was made a secondary capital to the main capital of the Sultanate of Bengal. This subsidiary position that Sonargaon had now taken, lasted until the arrival of the Mughals. The Mughal Empire originated in India and was first founded in 1526 by Babur, a Turco-Persian leader. The imperial Mughal viceroys ruled Bengal, and thus Sonargaon, for nearly a century before Bangladesh was founded in 1608. In Panam city you will city many ruined architectures but still having grandeur along their survived shape. Goaldi mosque, Kantoshri Mondir and many other buildings will tell you silently about a once flourishing and glorious city. The gloomy sight of the ghost
city reminded me about the rise and fall of the human history. Sonargao is also famous for 'folklore museum'. Due to the many threats to preservation (including flooding and vandalism) that this culturally and historically significant city faces, the World Monuments Fund placed it on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world
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city reminded me about the rise and fall of the human history. Sonargao is also famous for 'folklore museum'. Due to the many threats to preservation (including flooding and vandalism) that this culturally and historically significant city faces, the World Monuments Fund placed it on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world
