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| Shait Gumbad Mosque 1459 |
Received a late night call indicating that the original planned trip to
the Sundarbans was now back on, so spent a good part of the day at the
World Heritage Site of Bagerhat. In an effort to spread Islam to the
hinterlands about 150 km S of Dhaka, Khan Jahan Ali, a Sufi began a huge
building campaign in the mid 15th century. The trip out to Bagerhat
involves a one hour bus ride and several kms of walking from site to
site, including some delightful paths through working villages. I
visited six mosques and the tomb of Ali and I was the only person at
three of the mosques; I was shocked to visit one mosque and be invited
in during prayer time, but this is more reflective of the relaxed nature
of the religion as practiced here in Bangladesh. In fact, both women
and men pray at the same time here and that's a real no-no in more
radical Muslim countries. I continue to be amazed at how kind and
helpful Bangladeshis are towards foreigners. While there's little
tourist infrastructure (meaning few English menus among other things),
someone always seems to step out of nowhere and lend a hand. While the
food is tasty here, I've been a bit disappointed with the variety on
offer; curries or biriyanis seem to be the same everywhere with mutton,
chicken or beef being the only variation. There are some tasty fish
dishes as well, both fresh and salt-water. With no alcohol available,
it gets a bit old drinking water with every meal. I've heard of a few
clandestine places selling foreign beers at $5 a can, but so far a $5
can of some lousy domestic beer like Heineken just doesn't appeal.
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| A Ladder of Rope and Bamboo Reaching Nine Stories High! |
Traveler Tips:
The entrance fee of 200 taka for foreigners is the most
expensive yet in BD. Cattycorner from the official entrance gate is an
open, unguarded gate for townsfolk. It's through this gate you can also
visit two additional forest mosques. I'm not necessarily advocating
using this gate to avoid paying, but merely mentioning it. If you
choose to enter through the gate, you won't be able to enter the rather
mundane museum on the grounds. No other sites charge admission, though
they'll try to shake you down for donations at Ali's tomb. Bus fare
from Khulna (or Mongla) is around 50 taka. Be sure to ask the driver to
drop you off at the first mosque, otherwise you'll have to backtrack
about 4 km from the main bus stop in the town of Bagerhat.
Source: http://bruce3404bangladesh.blogspot.com/2014/02/bagerhat-and-khulna.html
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