Known for
- 1
Sonargaon, the old capital.
Before Dhaka there was Sonargaon: a seat of the Bengal sultans and of Isa Khan's Baro Bhuiyan, a mint town and a river port in the heart of the muslin country. Today it is a day out from Dhaka: the merchants' street of Panam Nagar, the folk art museum in Sardar Bari and the one-domed Goaldi mosque, all within a short walk of each other.
- 2
Mughal river forts on the Shitalakshya.
Hajiganj on the west bank and Sonakanda on the east were built to guard the river road to Dhaka against Magh and Portuguese raiders; with Idrakpur in Munshiganj they made a triangle of water forts. Bibi Mariam's mosque and tomb stand close to Hajiganj.
Best season
GoodFairNov–Feb
November to February is the time: dry paths in Panam, mild days for walking between the monuments, and the Lok Shilpa fair season at the museum. March to May is hot. In the monsoon the roads flood in places and Panam's lanes get muddy, though the river views are at their fullest.
Getting there
Bus
Dhaka
1–1.5 h to Sonargaon
Highway buses toward Chattogram or Cumilla; get off at Mograpara
Train
Dhaka (Kamalapur)
About 1 h
Commuter train to Narayanganj town, for the forts
Getting around
In Sonargaon
Rickshaws and autos from Mograpara to the museum and Panam
Narayanganj town is under an hour from Dhaka by the Dhaka–Narayanganj link road or the commuter train from Kamalapur. For Sonargaon take a bus on the Dhaka–Chattogram highway to Mograpara, then a rickshaw or auto to the museum and Panam. The forts sit beside the Shitalakshya in and across from the town; small boats cross the river.
Local food
Winter pithaMust try
Bhapa and chitoi at the stalls around Sonargaon
Narayanganj eats like Dhaka: biryani and kacchi in town, river fish, and sweets. Around Sonargaon the stalls near the museum sell pitha in winter and snacks for the walk.
Places to see
Mosque and shrineFahad Islam Nashid · CC BY 3.0Bibi Mariam Mosque and Tomb
A three-domed Mughal mosque at Killarpul, with the tomb said to be of Shaista Khan's daughter Bibi Mariam beside it.
Museum and gallerySharminsumona · CC BY-SA 4.0Folk Arts and Crafts Museum
The national folk art museum in Sardar Bari, an old mansion in wide grounds with ponds, set up at the urging of the painter Zainul Abedin.
Mosque and shrineFerdous · CC BY-SA 4.0Goaldi Mosque
A small one-domed sultanate mosque of 1519, with fine carved stone and terracotta, one of the few medieval buildings left in Sonargaon.
Fort and palaceSiplusinha · CC BY-SA 4.0Hajiganj Fort
A Mughal water fort on the west bank of the Shitalakshya, also called Khizirpur fort: crenellated walls round an open yard, built to stop river raiders on the way to Dhaka.
Kadam Rasul Dargah
A shrine in Bandar on the east bank of the Shitalakshya keeping a stone held to bear the Prophet's footprint, brought here in the late 16th century.
Archaeological siteKritzolina · CC BY-SA 4.0Panam Nagar
A single street of decaying merchants' houses in old Sonargaon, two storeys of arches, cast iron and coloured plaster, mostly from the 19th-century cotton-trade revival.
Fort and palaceSabbirAbeir (md sabbir) · CC BY-SA 4.0Sonakanda Fort
A Mughal river fort on the east bank of the Shitalakshya in Bandar, with a tall round gun platform, thought to be Mir Jumla's work.
Sources 2
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