Places To Visit In Dhaka For Couples

In Mughal era, there was a garden house of Sheikh Enayet Ullah, the landlord of Jamalpur Porgona (district), in this place. He used to keep beautiful girls collected from the country and abroad, dressing them with gorgeous dresses and expensive ornaments.

In 1785, the French transferred the property to a French tradesman named Mr. Champigni, and retaken it at 1801. According to Paris agreement of 1814, the French claimed all their left properties at Dhaka, and in 1827 the property was again returned to the French. For the increasing power of the English, the French was forced to leave subcontinent. They decided to sell all their properties in Dhaka. So in 1830, the trading house of Kumartuli was purchased by the established landlord of Dhaka, Khwaja Alimullah.

After some renovation work, the trading house became the residence of Khwaja Alimullah. In his time, a stable and a family mosque was added in the compound. After his death, his son Nawab Bahadur Sir Khwaja Abdul Ghani made a great flourish to the property, and named it "Ahsan Manzil" after his son Khwaja Ahsanullah. In the east side of the old building, he made a new building with a different design, and also done great renovation work to the old building. Since then, the old building was called "Ondor Mohol" and the new building was called "Rangmahal".

In the evening of 7 April 1888, a devastating tornado hit Dhaka city causing great damage. Ahsan Manzil was severely damaged and abandoned. An English engineer from Kolkata arrived here to examine the palace. He gave an opinion that except for the "Rangmahal", all the other parts of the palace would have to be reconstructed. So Nawab Bahadur Sir Khwaja Abdul Ghani and his son Nawab Bahadur Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah turned their full attention to rebuild the palace. Both of the buildings were reconstructed during that time with a new design and supervised by the local engineer Gobinda Chandra Roy.

The old French building was reconstructed to a two storied building keeping similarity to the Rangmahal. A gangway was made with wood connecting the first floors of the two buildings. The most beautiful thing made in this time was the dome, which made the palace so beautiful.

After the death of Khwaja Ahsanullah in 1901, the glory of Ahsan Manzil was ended. His successors could not continue the glory because of the internal family quarrel. They rented different parts of the palace to tenants, who actually made it a slum. In 1952, govt. acquired the property and left in supervision of the Dhaka Nawab court. In 1985, Dhaka National Museum acquired the property and made it a museum following a massive restoration programme which utilised historic photographs of the property.

Ahsan Manzil is one of the most significant architectural monuments of Bangladesh. The two-storied palace measures 125.4m by 28.75m and has a broad front-facing the Buriganga River. The high octagonal dome is placed on the central round room. The floors of the dining and Darbar Halls are decorated with white, green and yellow colored ceramic tiles.

Ahsan Manzil, an architectural treasure, is a witness to many historical events of Bangladesh. The nawabs of Dhaka used to conduct their court affairs here as chief of the Panchayet (village council). Many anti-Congress meetings were held here under the patronization of Nawab Ahsanullah.

Dhaka Nawab State was acquired under the East Bengal Estate Acquisition Act in 1952. After independence, most of the nawab family went to abroad in search of a better livelihood. The palace was soon on the verge of collapse as successors rented out rooms without considering its dignity.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ordered to establish a museum and tourist center after its proper conservation. In 1985, Ahsan Manzil and surroundings were acquired. After the completion of the renovation work in 1992, it was brought under the control of Bangladesh National Museum.

4.Sonargaon-

Sonargaon is one of the old capitals of the historic region of Bengal. Its hinterland was the center of the muslin trade in Bengal, with a large population of weavers and artisans. During British colonial rule, merchants built many Indo-Saracenic townhouses.

Sonargaon is one of the locations for the fabled land of Suvarnabhumi that is referred in cultures across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It was ruled by Vanga and Samatata Kingdoms during antiquity, and later became part of Delhi Sultanate.

The Sultanate of Sonargaon was formed after the death of Bahram Khan in 1338. It was a short-lived independent state with control over central, northeastern and southeastern Bengal. The sultanate competed with Lakhnauti and Satgaon for military supremacy in Bengal.

Sonargaon was a strategically important river port with proximity to the Brahmaputra Valley and the Bay of Bengal. It was used as a base by the Sultans during campaigns against Assam, Tripura and Arakan. Turkic, Arab, Habesha, Persian, Pashtun and Rajput settlers migrated to the region.

Isa Khan was prime minister in the court of Sultan Taj Khan Karrani. He resisted Mughal expansion by building up a confederation of zamindars. His forces repulsed an invasion by Shahbaz Khan Kamboh in 1584. In 1597, Isa Khan's navy defeated the Mughals on the Padma River.

In 1580, the English traveler Ralph Fitch described Isa Khan's kingdom. Sonargaon later became one of the districts of Bengal Subah. The dictionary Shabda-Ratnakari was compiled by the court poet Nathuresh during Musa Khan's reign.

Sonargaon was one of the districts (sarkars) of Mughal Bengal. Mughals built several riverside fortifications as part of defences against Arakanese and Portuguese pirates. These include Hajiganj Fort and Sonakanda Fort.

The Sonargaon house, originally called Bara Sardar Bari, was built in 1901. It is considered one of the world's most endangered sites by the World Monuments Fund. Due to the many threats to its preservation, it has been listed among the 100 Most Endangered Sites.

Sonargaon was an ancient center of muslin production and textile manufacturing. The town was famous for a cotton based cloth called Khasa for its finest quality. The English traveler Ralph Fitch described the cotton textile weaving culture of the area in the 16th-century.

5.Bangladesh National Museum-