Private Day Trip: History of Dhaka

Lalbagh Fort

Lalbagh Fort is a fort in the old city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its name is derived from its neighborhood Lalbagh, which means Red Garden. The term Lalbagh refers to reddish and pinkish architecture from the Mughal period. The original fort was called Fort Aurangabad. Its construction was started by Prince Muhammad Azam Shah, who was the son of Emperor Aurangzeb and a future Mughal emperor himself. After the prince was recalled by his father, the fort's construction was overseen by Shaista Khan. The death of Shaista Khan's daughter Pari Bibi (Fairy Lady) resulted in a halt to the construction process, apparently due to Shaista Khan's superstition that the fort brought bad omen. Pari Bibi was buried inside the fort. Lalbagh Fort was built as the official residence of the governor of the Mughal province of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The complex includes the Mughal governor's house, the tomb of Pari Bibi and a mosque. It is covered by lawns, fountains and water channels.

Ahsan Manzil

During the Mughal Empire, Sheikh Enayet Ullah, Zamindar of the Jamalpur Porgona district, had a garden house on this property and later added a palace, which he called Rongmohol. He was buried on the northeast corner of the palace yard but his gravesite was ruined at the beginning of the 20th century. His son Sheikh Moti Ullah sold the property to French traders, who erected a trading house beside the property. After changing hands a number of times over the next several centuries, the property was purchased by Khwaja Alimullah in the 1800s. Alimullah renovated the property, turning the trading house into a residence and adding a stable and family mosque. After his death, his son Khwaja Abdul Ghani named the property Ahsan Manzil after his son, Khwaja Ahsanullah. He continued renovations; the old building was renamed Ondor Mohol and the new building was called Rangmahal. On 7 April 1888, a tornado severely damaged Ahsan Manzil and it was temporarily abandoned.

Before its completion, the first and second Parliaments used the Old Sangsad Bhaban, which currently serves as the Prime Minister's Office Construction began in October 1964 when Bangladesh was East Pakistan, ordered by Ayub Khan from the West Pakistan capital of Islamabad. Ayub believed constructing a modern legislative complex would placate Bengalis. Jatiya Sangsad was designed by Louis Kahn. The government sought assistance from South Asian activist and architect Muzharul Islam who recommended bringing in the world's top architects for the project. He initially attempted to bring Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier, who were both were unavailable at the time. Islam then enlisted Kahn, his former teacher at Yale. Construction was halted during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and was completed on 28 January 1982. Louis Kahn died when the project was approximately three-quarters completed and it continued under David Wisdom, who worked for Louis Kahn

Dhakeshwari Temple

The Dhakeshwari temple was built in the 12th century by Ballal Sen, a king of the Sena dynasty, and it is said that the city Dhaka was named after the Goddess. The current architectural style of the temple cannot be dated to that period because of the numerous repairs, renovations, and rebuilding which have taken place over time. It is considered an essential part of Dhaka's cultural heritage. Many researchers believe that the temple is also one of the Shakti Peethas, where the jewel from the crown of the Goddess Sati had fallen. For ages, the temple has been held in great importance. The original 900-year-old murti was taken to Kumartuli, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. In 1947, during the partition of India, she was brought to Kolkata from Dhaka with Hindu refugees from East Pakistan. By 1950, A Tiwari family from Azamgarh was appointed by the royal Sena dynasty for daily worship of the deity of Dhaka. In 1960

Bangladesh National Museum

The Bangladesh National Museum is the national museum of Bangladesh. The museum is well organized and displays have been housed chronologically in several departments like department of ethnography and decorative art, department of history and classical art, department of natural history, and department of contemporary and world civilization. The museum also has a rich conservation laboratory. Nalini Kanta Bhattasali served as the first curator of the museum during 1914–1947. Bangladesh National Museum was originally established on 20 March 1913, albeit under another name (Dacca Museum), and formally inaugurated on 7 August 1913 by The Lord Carmichael, the governor of Bengal. In July 1915 it was handed over to the Naib Nazim of Dhaka. Bangladesh National Museum was formed through the incorporation of Dhaka museum and it was made the national museum of Bangladesh on 17 November 1983. It is located at Shahbag, Dhaka.

Shahid Minar

The Shaheed Minar is a national monument in Dhaka, Bangladesh, established to commemorate those killed during the Bengali Language Movement demonstrations of 1952 in then East Pakistan. 21 February 2023, 1 AM, Shaheed Minar, Dhaka On 21 and 22 February 1952, students from Dhaka University and Dhaka Medical College and political activists were killed when the Pakistani police force opened fire on Bengali protesters who were demanding official status for their native tongue, Bengali. The massacre occurred near Dhaka Medical College and Ramna Park in Dhaka. A makeshift monument was erected on 23 February by students of Dhaka medical college and other educational institutions, but soon demolished on 26 February by the Pakistani police force. The Language Movement gained momentum, and after a long struggle, Bengali gained official status in Pakistan (with Urdu) in 1956. Shaheed Minar was designed and built by Bangladeshi sculptors Hamidur Rahman in collaboration with Novera Ahmed.

Curzon Hall

The Curzon Hall is a British Raj-era building and home of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Dhaka (DU) The building was originally intended to be a town hall & is named after Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India who laid its foundation stone in 1904. Upon the establishment of Dacca University in 1921 it became the base of the university's science faculty. During the Bengali Language Movement 1948–1956, Curzon Hall was the location of various significant events. After the Partition of India in 1947 that formed the country of Pakistan, Urdu was chosen to be the sole state language. In 1948, the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan chose Urdu and English as the only languages to be used to address the assembly, which was protested within the assembly on the grounds that the majority of the people spoke Bangla and not Urdu Students of DU objected instantly to the actions of the Constituent Assembly & it was in Curzon Hall that they declared their opposition to the state language policy

Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection

Following the domination of their homeland by Persian powers of the time, Armenians were sent by their new rulers to the Bengal region for both political and economic reasons. Although the Armenian presence in South Asia is now insignificant, their presence in Dhaka dates back to the 17th century. Armenians came to Dhaka for business. In Dhaka, Armenian merchants traded in jute and leather, and profitability in these businesses convinced some to move permanently to Bangladesh. The area where they lived became known as Armanitola. In 1781 the now famous Armenian Church was built on Armenian Street in Armanitola, then a thriving business district. The site was an Armenian graveyard before the church was built, and the tombstones that have survived serve as a chronicle of Armenian life in the area. Agaminus Catchik, an Armenian, gave away the land to build the church. Michel Cerkess, Okotavata Setoor Sevorg, Aga Amnius, and Merkers Poges helped build the church

New Market

The market was set up 1954 as a shopping complex, to cater to the needs of the people from the residential areas of University of Dhaka, Azimpur, Ramna and Dhanmondi. Construction began in 1952, on 35 acres of land during the tenure of Nurul Amin as the Chief Minister of East Bengal. Construction ended in 1954. Today the market has multiple buildings as well as sidewalk vendors.