সোমবার, ১৫ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১৪

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.