The area of Chittagong city I live in is called Hauli Shahar (from Haveli Shahr, Farsi for 'City of Mansions'). It was the residential area during the Mughal reign over the city. I always wondered where the hell the mansions were?? Well, turns out most were destroyed over the centuries due to South Asia's super comfortable (sarcasm) hot, humid climate. The rest were demolished or redone with modern architectural elements. However, in my mom's neighborhood - called Choudhury Para - I realized there were some remnants. One was the Choudhury Mosque, built around 1780 and mom's relative's haveli, from the mid-1800's. The pix are included below. Still digging around town to find these priceless pieces of history...
^ The ghats to the pond...
^ The outside of the mosque; it's half hidden in lush vegetation.
^ The haveli in mom's neighborhood... the top portion was recently renovated; the rest is still in decrepid condition. There are two more smaller quarters on both sides of this main building.
share on: facebook
0 comments:
Post a Comment