(Bangabandhu) Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
(Maulana) Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani
AK Fazlul Huq
Ziaur Rahman
Religious Figures of Bangladesh
Poets & Writers
Historical Personalities
Bir Sreshtho(The Highest Gallantry Award)
Other Personalities
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.: Cox's Bazar |
When you are in Cox’s Bazar, you may want to wake up early in the morning and go to the beach and to view the sunshine. A walk down in the beach in the morning itself is quite a bit of an experience. Some people prefer to drive along the beach further to the south and can see how the locals make their living from the sea. While staying in hotel in Cox’s Bazar town a day trip to the broken hills of Himchhari, to the rubber gardens of Ramu or even to the sandy coconut island St Martin is worth making. The beauty of the setting-sun behind the waves of the sea is simply captivating. Locally made cigars and handloom products of the tribal Rakhyne families are good buys. Getting There Cox’s Bazar is around 400 km from Dhaka and 150 km from the port city of Chittagong. Regular coach services run from Dhaka and Chittagong. There are 2-3 flights from Dhaka and Chittagong to Cox’s Bazar operated by Biman with reasonable cost. Travelling by coach remains a better option with fraction of the price though.
Broken Hills and Waterfalls of Himchhari Himchhari, located 18 km south of Cox's Bazar along the sea beach, is a nice place for picnic and film shooting. The broken hills and waterfalls here are unique spots. |
.: Inani Beach
The fine golden sandy beach
The beautiful Inani beach is in Ukhia Thana and 32 km to the south of Cox’s Bazar. Inani beach with the sea to the west and background of steep green hills to the east is just half an hour buy bus from Cox’s Bazar. It is famous for the rock and coral boulders. | Inani Beach |
.: Sonadia Island
The sandy and the beds of oysters
Sonadia with an area of 9 sq km is a crescent shaped island to the north-west of Cox's Bazar and 7 km into the sea. Its western coast is sandy and is rich in different kinds of shells. Every winter thousands of fishermen camp here and make large hauls. The island is a centre of the dry fish industry. Another attraction of the island is the sight of game birds migrating here in great numbers during the winter season.
.: Patenga Beach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sonadia Island |
.: Sundarbans
Royal Bengal Tiger in World’s largest Mangrove forests
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. | |||||||
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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.
How to get there Water transport is the only means of communication to the Sundarbans from Khulna or Mongla port. Private motor launches, speed boats, country boats as well as mechanised vessels of Mongla Port Authority offer regular services on these routes. From Dhaka to Khulna the most enjoyable journey is by paddle steamer ‘Rocket’ that offers visitors a picturesque panorama of rural Bangladesh. Day and night coach services by road are also available. The quickest mode is of course by air from Dhaka to Jessore and then to Khulna by road. |
Bangladesh is a country considerably rich in archaeological wealth, especially of the medieval period both during the Muslim and pre-Muslim rules, though most of it is still unexplored and unknown. In archaeological fieldwork and research this area was very much neglected for a long time for various reasons, not the least of which are its difficult geography and climate and remoteness from the main centres of the subcontinent. With the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 the Government has undertaken a number of field projects including a comprehensive survey and exploration of the hitherto unexplored areas and a fairly ambitious scheme of excavations on selected sites. Though work at present is carried out on a limited scale, the discoveries already made have been significant, while new information and fresh evidence are coming out gradually. These fresh explorations are likely to add substantially to our knowledge of the history and chronology of ancient Bangladesh and various aspects of her life and culture. The earlier history of Bangladesh reveals that Buddhism received royal patronage from some important ruling dynasties like the great Pala rulers, the Chandras and the Deva Kings. Under their royal patronage numerous well-organized, self-contained monasteries sprang up all over the country. The major archaeological sites are described below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.: Paharpur |
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. |
.: Mahasthangarh
The oldest archaeological site
The oldest archaeological site of Bangladesh is on the western bank of river Karatoa 18 km. north of Bogra town beside Bogra-Rangpur Road. The spectacular site is an imposing landmark in the area having a fortified, oblong enclosure measuring 5000 ft. by 4500 ft. with an average height of 15 ft. from the surrounding paddy fields. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Beyond the fortified area, other ancient ruins fan out within a semicircle of about five miles radius. Several isolated mounds, the local names of which are Govinda Bhita Temple, Khodai Pathar Mound, Mankalir Kunda, Parasuramer Bedi, Jiyat Kunda etc. surround the fortified city. This 3rd century archaeological site is still held to be of great sanctity by the Hindus. Every year (mid-April) and once in every 12 years (December) thousands of Hindu devotees join the bathing ceremony on the bank of river Karatoa. A visit to the Mahasthangarh site museum will open up for you wide variety of antiquities, ranging from terracotta objects to gold ornaments and coins recovered from the site.
For visiting Paharpur and Mahasthangarh, the visitors may enjoy the hospitality of Parjatan Motel at Bogra. Mahasthangarh and Paharpur are only 18 km. and 75 km. respectively from Bogra town.
| .: Lalbagh Fort | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.: Shatt-Gumbad Mosque, Bagerhat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.: Sonargaon |
About 27 km. from Dhaka, Sonargaon is one of the oldest capitals of Bengal. It was the seat of Deva Dynasty until the 13th century. From then onward till the advent of the Mughals, Sonargaon was subsidiary capital of the Sultanate of Bengal. Among the ancient monuments still intact are the Tomb of Sultan Ghiasuddin (1399-1409 A.D.), the shrines of Panjpirs and Shah Abdul Alla and a beautiful mosque in Goaldi village. The ancient capital of Bengal was called 'Panam Nagar' which is still standing with its past. | Sonargaon |
.: Kantanagar Temple, Dinajpur
The most ornate among the late medieval temples of Bangladesh is the Kantanagar temple near Dinajpur town, which was built in 1752 by Maharaja Pran Nath of Dinajpur. The temple, a 50' square three storied edifice, rests on a slightly curved raised plinth of sandstone blocks, believed to have been quarried from the ruins of the ancient city of Bangarh near Gangharampur in West Bengal. It was originally a Navaratna temple, crowned with four richly ornamental corner towers on two storeys and a central one over the third storey. | Kantanagar Temple |
Unfortunately these ornate towers collapsed during an earthquake at the end of the 19th century. In spite of this, the monument rightly claims to be the finest extant example of its type in brick and terracotta, built by Bengali artisans. The central cells is surrounded on all sides by a covered veranda, each pierced by three entrances, which are separated by equally ornate dwarf brick pillars, Corresponding to the three delicately cusped entrances of the balcony, the sanctum has also three richly decorated arched openings on each face. Every inch of the temple surface is beautifully embellished with exquisite terracotta plaques, representing flora fauna, geometric motifs, mythological scenes and an astonishing array of contemporary social scenes and favourite pastimes. Besides, there are many other monuments which incites tourist interests. |
.: Ahsan Manzil
The pink majestic
On the bank of river Buriganga in Dhaka the Pink majestic Ahsan Manzil has been renovated and turned into a museum recently. It is an epitome of the nation's rich cultural heritage. It is the home of Nawab of Dhaka and a silent spectator to many events. | Ahsan Manzil |
Today's renovated Ahsan Manzil a monument of immense historical beauty. 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. |
.: Sitakunda
Chandranath Hindu Temple
It is approximately 37 km far from Chittagong. This is famous for Chandranath Hindu Temple - one of the oldest temples in the subcontinent. There is also Buddhist Temple having a footprint of Buddha. These places particularly the hilltops are regarded as very sacred by the Hindus and Buddhist. Shiva Chanuturdash (14th) festivals is held every year in February when thousands of pilgrims assemble which lasts for ten days. There is also a hot-water spring 5 km to the north of Sitakunda. | Chandranath Hindu Temple |
.: Sri Chaitanya Temple
A famous Hindu Temple
About 500 years old famous temple of Sri Chaitanya Dev is located at Dhaka Dakhin nearly 45 km south-east from Sylhet town. The place is revered for being the ancestral home of the famous Vaishnava saint. Yearly fair is organized on the full moon day of the Bangla month Falgun. Hundreds and thousand of devotees from home and abroad attend this colourful fair. | Sri Chaitanya Temple |