Mosque and shrine, Bagerhat
Nine Dome Mosqueনয় গম্বুজ মসজিদ
- Time needed
- Twenty minutes.
- best months
- Nov–Feb
- Cost
- Free.
A square mosque on the west bank of the Thakur Dighi, one big dome ringed by eight small ones over a hall of terracotta flowers.
Plan your visit
- Opening
- Daylight hours; closed to visitors at prayer times.
At a glance
- Domes
- One large, eight small
- Period
- Mid-15th century, Khan Jahan's time
About
Noy Gombuj is the quiet neighbour of the tomb: a few minutes' walk along the tank's western bank, in a grove, with the water on one side. It is a single square hall, its roof carried by four stone pillars in the middle so that one large central dome can sit over the heart of the room and eight smaller domes ring it, three a side. Round towers mark the four corners in the Khan Jahan manner and the cornice curves gently like a hut's eave.
The prize is inside: the mihrabs on the west wall are framed in terracotta scrollwork, flowers and hanging motifs, more complete here than in any other mosque of the city because the building was buried and sheltered for centuries. Salt in the brick had eaten at it badly by the 1970s; the restoration since has been thorough, and a few walls are visibly new. It dates from the time of Khan Jahan, the mid-1400s, though no inscription names its builder.
Getting there: On the west bank of the Thakur Dighi, a short walk south-west from the tomb of Khan Jahan Ali.
Things to do
- Look at the terracotta around the central mihrab; it is the best preserved in Bagerhat.
- Photograph it from across the tank in the late afternoon.
Good to know
- Combine it with the tomb and the Thakur Dighi; all three are within a ten-minute walk.
