Mosque City of Bagerhat
| Historic Shat Gombuj Mosque (Sixty Tomb Mosque) | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
| Location | Bangladesh |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iv |
| Reference | 321 |
| UNESCO region | Asia-Pacific |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1985 (9th Session) |
The Mosque City of Bagerhat (Bengali: মসজিদের শহর বাগেরহাট) is a formerly lost city, located in the suburbs of Bagerhat city in Bagerhat District, in the Khulna Division of southwest of Bangladesh. Bagerhat is about 15 miles south east of Khulna and 200 miles southwest of Dhaka.
Originally known as Khalifatabad and nicknamed the "mint town of the Bengal Sultanate", the city was founded in the 15th century by the warrior saint Turkish general Ulugh Khan Jahan.
The historic city, listed by Forbes as one of the 15 lost cities of the world, has more than 50 Islamic monuments which have been found after removing the vegetation that had obscured them from view for many centuries. The site has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 under criteria (iv), "as an outstanding example of an architectural ensemble which illustrates a significant stage in human history", of which the Sixty Pillar Mosque (Shat Gombuj Masjid in Bengali), constructed with 60 pillars and 77 domes, is the most well known. Apart from these monuments, UNESCO also includes the mausoleum of Khan Jahan, the mosques of Singar, Bibi Begni, Reza Khoda, Zindavir among the unique monuments.
The mosque city is situated at the confluence of Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers, at a maximum of around 60 kilometres (37 mi) from the sea coast. The city is spread over an area of 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi), on the banks of the Moribund branch of the Bhairab River along a 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) stretch (in an east–west direction and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) width in north–south direction), which was part of the Sundarbans mangrove forests. According to numismatics, it was built in the 15th century and was known by the name of Khalifatabad during the 16th century. Given the nature of the heavy forest habitat and it being inhabited by tigers, the city was developed with unique infrastructure to make it inhabitable. Today all monuments are set in the unspoilt environment of what is now farmlands, surrounded by palm trees.
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Wikipedia