:: Ahsan Manjil
Built
in 1872 and standing on the river Buriganga, this stately
building offers the visitors a feeling of the life-style
of the Nawabs of Dhaka. Sometimes known as the Pink
Palace, this building now houses a splendid museum.
Basically, it was the residence of the Nawabs. Nawab
Abdul Gani renovated this building in the year 1872
and named it after his son Khaza Ahasanullah.

[Ahsan
Manjil] |
On the bank of river Buriganga
in Dhaka the Pink majestic, Ahsan Manjil has been
renovated and turned into a museum recently. It
is an epitome of the nation's rich cultural heritage.
Todays renovated Ahsan Manjil a monument of immense
historical beauty.
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It
has 31 rooms with a huge dome atop which can be seen
from
miles around. It now has 23 galleries in 31 rooms displaying
of traits, furniture and household articles and utensils
used by the Nawab.
Open
9 am- 5 pm from Saturday to Wednesday and 3-5 pm on
Friday. Thursday is close.
::
Lalbagh Fort
The
fort of Aurangabad, popularly known as the Lalbagh Fort,
was built in 1678 AD by the then Viceroy of Bengal Prince
Mohammad Azam, son of the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb.
The fort has a three storied structure with slender
minarets at the South Gate. It has many hidden passages
and a mosque of massive structure. Outstanding among
the monuments of the Lalbagh Fort are the Tomb of Pari
Bibi (Fairy lady) and Audience room and Hummam Khana
(bathing place) of Nawab Shaista Khan, now housing a
museum.
The fort was the scene of bloody battle
during the first war of independence (1857) when 260
spays stationed here backed by the people revolted against
British forces. It is one of the great historical places
of Mughal era. A small museum is there in this fort
where you will find the clothes and weapons of the Mughols.
Lalbagh fort is in the old town of Dhaka at Lalbagh.
It is open 10 am-5 pm Sunday to
Friday & Saturday is closed.
The
capital city Dhaka predominantly was a city of the Mughals.
In hundred years of their vigorous rule successive Governors
and princely Viceroys who ruled the province, adorned
it with many noble monuments in the shape of magnificent
places, mosques, tombs, fortifications and 'Katras'
often surrounded with beautifully laid out gardens and
pavilions. Among these, few have survived the ravages
of time, aggressive tropical climate of the land and
vandal hands of man.

[Lalbagh
Fort - Dhaka] |
But
the finest specimen of this period is the Aurangabad
Fort [commonly known as Lalbagh Fort], which indeed
represents the unfulfilled dream of a Mughal Prince.
It occupies the southwestern part of the old city,
overlooking the Buriganga on whose northern bank
it stands as a silent sentinel of the old city.
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Rectangular
in plan, it encloses an area of 1082' by 800' and in
addition to its graceful lofty gateways on southeast
and northeast corners and a subsidiary small unpretentious
gateway on north, it also contains within its fortified
perimeter a number of splendid monuments, surrounded
by attractive garden. These are a small 3-domed mosque,
the mausoleum of Bibi Pari the reputed daughter of Nawab
Shaista Khan and the Hammam and Audience Hall of the
Governor. The main purpose of this fort was to provide
a defensive enclosure of the palatial edifices of the
interior and as such was a type of palace-fortress rather
than a siege fort.
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[Shahid Minar]
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Symbol
of Bengali nationalism. This monument was built
to commemorate the martyrs of the historic Language
movement of 1952. Hundreds and thousands of people
with floral wreaths and bouquet gather on 21 February
every year to pay respect in a solemn atmosphere.
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