Architectural Heritage in the Islamic Countries [ Bangladesh]

Bangladesh has a long and rich Islamic background regarding thedevelopment of its arts, culture, music and architecture. The adventof Islam was made in the 13th century AD. in Bangladesh. Since thatadvent, the Muslim rulers continued their structural activities indifferent corners of the country. Of the major surviving relics aremosques. Besides there are examples of Mausoleum, Madrasah, Eidgah,Forts, bridges, hammam-khanas etc. Till today the Govt. has declared78 Mosques, 14 Mausoleums, 2 Katras, 1 Eidgah, 1 Madrasah, 3 HammamKhana, 4 Forts protected. The oldest Madrashah was built in theearliest 16th century AD. at Gaur. The earliast Eidgah is located incity of Dhaka. It is called Dhanmondi Eidgah. It was constructedduring the rule of Mughal prince Shah Suja in the 17th century AD.However among the oldest mosque mentions may be made of Sait GumbudMosque (Sixty domed Mosque) of Bagerhat (The early 15th century AD.),Chhota Sona Mosque (or small Golden Mosque) of Gaur, Bagha Mosque ofRajshahi, Kusumba Mosque of Naogaon, Lalbagh Fort Mosque of Dhaka cityand Goaldi Mosque of sonargaon. Of the surviving mausoleums the tombof bibi pari in Dhaka city, the tomb of bibi Marium in Narayangonj,the tomb of Giusuddin Azam shah and the tomb of Khan-e-Jahan inBagerhat are a few to note.The Muslim rulers also founded a number of towns since the verybeginging of this regime in Bangladesh. Of the towns special mentionsmay be made of sonargaon in Narayangong, Gaur in Chapai Nawabgong,Khalifatabad in Bagerhat and Jahangirnagar of Dhaka. All these townsare adorned with several kind of edifices i.e. – spring Garden, Katra,fort etc.The Muslim archaeological history of Bangladesh is divided into twomajor distinct period. One was the advent of the Muslims of SultanatePeriod (1204-1576 AD). This period experienced the introduction of newbuilding types such as mosques and mausoleums. The buildings however,assumed tangible expressions through adoration of regional forms,using the existing features and local materials.Next was the Mughal Period (1576-1757 AD). The Mughals were mightybuilders; their architectural accomplishments in Bengal were modest &articulated. Mughal Architecture was defined by their standard threedomed mosque and by panal decoration on plastered surfaces.Protections of Heritage:The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in itsarticles 24 stated that ‘The State shall adopt measures for theprotection against disfigurement, damage or removal of all monuments,objects or places or special artistic or historic importance orinterest’.In line with the Constitutional provision the Govt. enacted importantlaw namely ‘‘the Antiquities act. 1968’’ where conservation,preservation, protection of heritage monuments are the main contents.Protection of architectural heritage is predominantly important tosafeguard it from being damaged. Awareness in the community is a majorkey area that needs to be high lighted. The Department of Archaeologydeveloped school programme to sensitize the school children ofneighborhood about protection of sites. Archaeological Engineers asroutine Programme undertake activities to conserve and repair theHeritage site every year depending on the present situation of thebuildings and the resources available. The major problems they face isthe salinity on the walls, grounds, plasters, ceilings etc. Experts,specialists are trying hard to address this issue. UNESCO also hasbeen requested to explore experts from abroad to attend this problem.Tourism Potential:Architectural Heritage sites are considered very attractive spot fortourists of Home and Abroad. Its potentials are gradually increasing.To enhance this potential the Govt. has under taken a project ‘SouthAsian Tourism in fracture Development Project (Bangladesh Portion) withthe support of Asian Development Bank. This package included SaitGumbud Mosque (Sixty domed Mosque). In formulation of other projects,the Govt. considers Tourism potentials, and its requirments like safeConnectivity, Fooding, Lodging and law & Order situation as priority.We have in our country ‘Bangladesh porjoton corporation’ (BPC). ThatOrganization conducts all the tours in different Islamic heritagesites in the country.There are private tourism organizations too which facilitate journeyof the tourists, their logding and dinning. To strengthen the privatepartnership with Tour Operators an Event wise consultation are on.Citizens of Bangladesh are always happy to extend their hospitality tovisitors, in particular the foreign Tourists. Booklets, browshiors,folders are regularly being published from various dept. like Islamicfoundation, BPC, DOA etc. The Govt. has also given importance tointroduce light & sound display in various important Islamic Heritagesites. Meanwhile, in Lalbagh Fort specific activities are going on.Bangladesh: The Tourism Destination, a document that contains all thesites, festivals with its present status is going to be published verysoon. It will help to understand, plan & develop the sites as a whole in near future.

SAVE SONARGAON AND PANAM NAGAR

SAVE SONARGAON AND PANAM NAGAR
===================================
These historical sites Sonargaon and Panam Nagar are in danger of being lost for lack of coordinated programmes to protect them,"
According to me, Sonargaon as a historical place that bears many symbols of archaeological development of ancient Bengal and the authorities concerned should protect these for the next generation. "It's a place which can attract tourists from abroad too,

The government should take immediate steps to provide transport
facility, especially bus services up to the spot, so that people from capital Dhaka can visit the place in comfort.A famous university was established in this importantf Sonargaon, in the 14th century and many great scholars from across the world used to teach the students. "Among many historical events,there was a slave market there during the Muslim rule."A planned city, Panam Nagar, was built there which is now in shabby condition.
"We should protect these historical sites for the future generation."Very Recently in the name of conservation these historically Importants Monuments were made as a Modern Building.This is really a Painful story of our History.

According to history, Sonargaon was the capital of eastern Bengal under the rulers of Shahi Sultan during the medieval age. It now survives as a township about 27 kilometers southeast of Dhaka but from the old remains it appears
to encompass a wide tract bounded on the east, west and south by the Meghna, the Shitalakhya and the Dhaleshwari rivers respectively and on the north by the Brahmaputra.With the annexation of the Muslim principality of Lakhnauti by Shamsuddin Firuz Shah in the 14th century,
Sonargaon became the seat of an independent ruler under his son and successor Ghiyasuddin Bahadur Shah and after the fall it became the headquarters of the eastern province of Bengal under Tughlaqs till 1338
Most ordinary people spend the bulk of their lives moving from one building to another, traveling ever-increasing distances in cars, buses, trains or on foot, with more and more chores to carry out in less and less time.
Individuals find that their quality of life, whether in the developed world or in developing societies, is conditioned by the quality of the environment being built around them by others - increasing the sense of individual alienation, especially among the underprivileged.

Rapid urbanization is expected to continue, drawing two-thirds of the world population into cities by the next century.
By the year 2030, the urban population in developing countries will be twice the size of the rural population.
In some cases, urban sprawls will not only dominate a country's economic life but take up most of its physical space, turning it into a vast urban territory.
In the over-populated cities of the developing South, other than in a few "museum towns", the demolition of entire historic urban sectors, the abandonment of unique historic buildings, and the construction of new buildings that
are incongruous, to say the least, with the integrity of the historic urban fabric are combining to transform the cities' very identity. Furthermore, work to upgrade roads and improve mass transport systems, while necessary,
may unfortunately be done without due regard to maintaining the integrity of historic centres.

If the essence of heritage protection is to preserve the ingenuity of the past for future generations, as well as to stimulate new creations, heritage must have a meaning in contemporary society. This is a fundamental precept of
the World Heritage Convention, contained in Article 5. For heritage preservation that denies modernity, that obstructs development, that attempts to freeze time, would be counter-productive to the ultimate goal of
human progress.

Despite globalization, the reality of each individual city is unique and complex. There are no "urban models" of reference, only case studies. I hope that the architects, urbanists and mayors who have kindly agreed to
participate in this conference will demonstrate to us, through such case studies, the ways in which each city's future can be anchored in its individual identity. Let us all strive to protect and build an "urban heritage" as the basis for developing urban policies for the city of the future, the city of the new, democratic age.

Past Preservers: New Casting Alert

Past Preservers: New Casting Alert: "WWII Show I have been asked to find someone who could present a special programme about WWII for Channel 4. He/she would not need to be an..."

SOME ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURES OF BANGLADESH

Bangladesh is a country of tropical climate which is characterized byhigh temperature, heavy precipitation, excessive humidity and fairly markedseasonal variations. This type of climate is not suitable for preservation ofancient brick-built structures, which constitute almost 100% of our heritage.Besides the climatic factors, certain cultural factors are also responsible for Deteriorating the tangible cultural heritage of the country. Sometimes culturalfactors are stronger than the natural factors. For instance, vandalism in theCultural mounds by the owners of the concerned lands and their associates inrecent times in Mahasthan and its environs is so strong and vibrant that if itcontinues in its present pace, after five years or so those mounds will entirelydisappear. So it is most urgent that some measures must be taken right at themonument to stop this vandalism. Moreover, new settlements have beendeveloped over many mounds. Many cultural properties are being graduallysqueezed due to encroachment. Illicit trafficking of movable cultural propertiesis a common phenomenon in a third world country like Bangladesh. So inmany ways we are loosing our glorious heritage day by day. Water logging,salinity, biological growth in brick-built monuments etc. are also causing thedegradation of these cultural properties.
Apart from these, values of the heritage sites are not preserved properlyin course of conservation works. The country also lacks a national heritagemanagement plan. So it imperative that the problems should be identifiedproperly and suggestive measures must be undertaken for effectiveconservation and management of all the heritage sites.The sulptures found with our hard excavation and exploration works are unbelievably rich and complex heritage of Bangladesh. Benefiting from recent archaeological research helps us to show works from the Maurya period and go on until the 19th century. And thus we will retrace history whilst emphasising on a certain number of major sites. As a matter of fact, one of the characteristics of this heritage is that a lot of the pieces are well documented and enable us to situate the same in their precise historical and artistic context. The four great religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Islam that determine the history of Bangladesh will be duly represented.Sculptures of a impressive dimension have been recently unearthed: a bronze Buddha measuring 1,3 metres in Paharpur in 1982, a Gupta Buddha (from Sarnath) sculpted on both sides at Mahasthan in 1992, a bronze Vajrasattva, 1,40 metres in height, at Mainamati in 1995, and finally an Avalokitesvara found on the same site of the same material and size. These pieces are the real proud of Bangladesh Archaeology.I AM REALLY FORTUNATE TO LEAD THIS EXCAVATIONATION MAINAMATI,COMILLA

SOME ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURES OF BANGLADESH

Bangladesh is a country of tropical climate which is characterized byhigh temperature, heavy precipitation, excessive humidity and fairly markedseasonal variations. This type of climate is not suitable for preservation ofancient brick-built structures, which constitute almost 100% of our heritage.Besides the climatic factors, certain cultural factors are also responsible for Deteriorating the tangible cultural heritage of the country. Sometimes culturalfactors are stronger than the natural factors. For instance, vandalism in theCultural mounds by the owners of the concerned lands and their associates inrecent times in Mahasthan and its environs is so strong and vibrant that if itcontinues in its present pace, after five years or so those mounds will entirelydisappear. So it is most urgent that some measures must be taken right at themonument to stop this vandalism. Moreover, new settlements have beendeveloped over many mounds. Many cultural properties are being graduallysqueezed due to encroachment. Illicit trafficking of movable cultural propertiesis a common phenomenon in a third world country like Bangladesh. So inmany ways we are loosing our glorious heritage day by day. Water logging,salinity, biological growth in brick-built monuments etc. are also causing thedegradation of these cultural properties.
Apart from these, values of the heritage sites are not preserved properlyin course of conservation works. The country also lacks a national heritagemanagement plan. So it imperative that the problems should be identifiedproperly and suggestive measures must be undertaken for effectiveconservation and management of all the heritage sites.The sulptures found with our hard excavation and exploration works are unbelievably rich and complex heritage of Bangladesh. Benefiting from recent archaeological research helps us to show works from the Maurya period and go on until the 19th century. And thus we will retrace history whilst emphasising on a certain number of major sites. As a matter of fact, one of the characteristics of this heritage is that a lot of the pieces are well documented and enable us to situate the same in their precise historical and artistic context. The four great religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Islam that determine the history of Bangladesh will be duly represented.Sculptures of a impressive dimension have been recently unearthed: a bronze Buddha measuring 1,3 metres in Paharpur in 1982, a Gupta Buddha (from Sarnath) sculpted on both sides at Mahasthan in 1992, a bronze Vajrasattva, 1,40 metres in height, at Mainamati in 1995, and finally an Avalokitesvara found on the same site of the same material and size. These pieces are the real proud of Bangladesh Archaeology.I AM REALLY FORTUNATE TO LEAD THIS EXCAVATIONATION MAINAMATI,COMILLA

Islamic Architectural Heritage In Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a long and rich Islamic background regarding thedevelopment of its arts, culture, music and architecture. The advent of Islam was made in the 13th century AD. in Bangladesh. Since thatadvent, the Muslim rulers continued their structural activities indifferent corners of the country. Of the major surviving relics aremosques. Besides there are examples of Mausoleum, Madrasah, Eidgah,Forts, bridges, hammam-khanas etc. Till today the Govt. has declared78 Mosques, 14 Mausoleums, 2 Katras, 1 Eidgah, 1 Madrasah, 3 HammamKhana, 4 Forts protected. The oldest Madrashah was built in theearliest 16th century AD. at Gaur. The earliast Eidgah is located incity of Dhaka. It is called Dhanmondi Eidgah. It was constructedduring the rule of Mughal prince Shah Suja in the 17th century AD.However among the oldest mosque mentions may be made of Sait GumbudMosque (Sixty domed Mosque) of Bagerhat (The early 15th century AD.),Chhota Sona Mosque (or small Golden Mosque) of Gaur, Bagha Mosque ofRajshahi, Kusumba Mosque of Naogaon, Lalbagh Fort Mosque of Dhaka cityand Goaldi Mosque of sonargaon. Of the surviving mausoleums the tombof bibi pari in Dhaka city, the tomb of bibi Marium in Narayangonj,the tomb of Giusuddin Azam shah and the tomb of Khan-e-Jahan inBagerhat are a few to note.The Muslim rulers also founded a number of towns since the verybeginging of this regime in Bangladesh. Of the towns special mentionsmay be made of sonargaon in Narayangong, Gaur in Chapai Nawabgong,Khalifatabad in Bagerhat and Jahangirnagar of Dhaka. All these townsare adorned with several kind of edifices i.e. – spring Garden, Katra,fort etc.The Muslim archaeological history of Bangladesh is divided into twomajor distinct period. One was the advent of the Muslims of SultanatePeriod (1204-1576 AD). This period experienced the introduction of newbuilding types such as mosques and mausoleums. The buildings however,assumed tangible expressions through adoration of regional forms,using the existing features and local materials.Next was the Mughal Period (1576-1757 AD). The Mughals were mightybuilders; their architectural accomplishments in Bengal were modest &articulated. Mughal Architecture was defined by their standard threedomed mosque and by panal decoration on plastered surfaces.Protections of Heritage:The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in itsarticles 24 stated that ‘The State shall adopt measures for theprotection against disfigurement, damage or removal of all monuments,objects or places or special artistic or historic importance orinterest’.In line with the Constitutional provision the Govt. enacted importantlaw namely ‘‘the Antiquities act. 1968’’ where conservation,preservation, protection of heritage monuments are the main contents.Protection of architectural heritage is predominantly important tosafeguard it from being damaged. Awareness in the community is a majorkey area that needs to be high lighted. The Department of Archaeologydeveloped school programme to sensitize the school children ofneighborhood about protection of sites. Archaeological Engineers asroutine Programme undertake activities to conserve and repair theHeritage site every year depending on the present situation of thebuildings and the resources available. The major problems they face isthe salinity on the walls, grounds, plasters, ceilings etc. Experts,specialists are trying hard to address this issue. UNESCO also hasbeen requested to explore experts from abroad to attend this problem.Tourism Potential:Architectural Heritage sites are considered very attractive spot fortourists of Home and Abroad. Its potentials are gradually increasing.To enhance this potential the Govt. has under taken a project ‘SouthAsian Tourism in fracture Development Project (Bangladesh Portion) withthe support of Asian Development Bank. This package included SaitGumbud Mosque (Sixty domed Mosque). In formulation of other projects,the Govt. considers Tourism potentials, and its requirments like safeConnectivity, Fooding, Lodging and law & Order situation as priority.We have in our country ‘Bangladesh porjoton corporation’ (BPC). ThatOrganization conducts all the tours in different Islamic heritagesites in the country.There are private tourism organizations too which facilitate journeyof the tourists, their logding and dinning. To strengthen the privatepartnership with Tour Operators an Event wise consultation are on.Citizens of Bangladesh are always happy to extend their hospitality tovisitors, in particular the foreign Tourists. Booklets, browshiors,folders are regularly being published from various dept. like Islamicfoundation, BPC, DOA etc. The Govt. has also given importance tointroduce light & sound display in various important Islamic Heritagesites. Meanwhile, in Lalbagh Fort specific activities are going on Bangladesh: The Tourism Destination, a document that contains all thesites, festivals with its present status is going to be published verysoon. It will help to understand, plan & develop the sites as a whole in near future.