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Matthew Patay's
Note of the Month
January 2008
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Map and flag images provided by Graphic Maps
This month's featured note
is from Bangladesh.
The denomination is 500 Taka and the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money
(SCWPM) Number is P-43.
The note is dated 2002.
(front)
The banknote is brownish purple on multicolored underprint.
The Sat (Shat) Gambuj Mosque is at center and the National Martyrs' Monument at
Savar is at right.
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The following information
was obtained from:
travel.discoverybangladesh.com
Sat (Shat) Gambuj Mosque
(For the full article, please refer to
the link above.)
In mid-15th century, a Muslim colony was founded in the inhospitable mangrove forest of the Sundarbans near the seacoast in the Bagerhat district by an obscure saint-General, named Ulugh Khan Jahan. He was the earliest torch bearer of Islam in the South who laid the nucleus of an affluent city during the reign of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah (1442-59), then known as 'Khalifalabad' (present Bagerhat). Khan Jahan aborned his city with numerous mosques, tanks, roads and other public buildings, the spectacular ruins of which are focused around the most imposing and largest multidomed mosques in Bangladesh, known as the Shait-Gumbad Masjid (160'X108'). The stately fabric of the monument, serene and imposing, stands on the eastern bank of an unusually vast sweet-water tank, clustered around by the heavy foliage of a low-laying countryside, characteristic of a sea-coast landscape. So in the year 1459 the great Azam Ulugh Khan Jahan established this mosque, which called Shat Gambuj Mosjid. In Bengali Shat means the number 60. Though it is called Shat Gambuj Mosjid, actually the numbers of Gamboj in the mosque are 81. The mosque roofed over with 77 squat domes, including 7 chauchala or four-sided pitched Bengali domes in the middle row. The vast prayer hall, although provided with 11 arched doorways on east and 7 each on north and south for ventilation and light, presents a dark and somber appearance inside. It is divided into 7 longitudinal aisles and 11 deep bays by a forest of slender stone columns, from which springs rows of endless arches, supporting the domes. Six feet thick, slightly tapering walls and hollow and round, almost detached corner towers, resembling the bastions of fortress, each capped by small rounded cupolas, recall the Tughlaq architecture of Delhi.
The general appearance of this noble monument with its stark simplicity but massive character reflects the strength and simplicity of the builder. This mosque is 160 ft long and 108 ft. in its width. This is one of the most beautiful archeological and historical Mosque in Bangladesh made by red burn mud.
The archeological beauty of this Mosque enchants the tourist till now. Besides this Mosque an archeological museum is there where you can find that times archeological and historical materials.
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The following information
was obtained from:
dhakadailyphoto.blogspot.com
National Martyrs' Memorial at Savar
(For the full article, please refer to
the link above.)
National Martyrs' Memorial at Savar, about 35 km north-west of Dhaka built in memory of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Bangladesh. The Monument tower designed by Arch Syed Mainul Hussain is composed of seven isosceles triangular planes, each varying in size in its height and base. The planes are folded at the middle and placed one after another. The highest point of the structure reaches 150 feet. Several mass-graves and a pool of water body are placed in front of the monument.
Monument complex is spread over an area of 34 hectares (84 acres) wrapped around by a green belt of 10 hectares (24.7 acre). Concrete is used for the monument tower while red bricks is used for other structures and pavements. Water pool and the platform for laying wreath are placed in front of the monument while mass-graves are on both sides. From the main gate one can see the monument axially, but to reach there one has to walk through different levels of red pavements and cross a lake - all these representing the struggle for independence.
The Public Works Department of the Government of Bangladesh undertook its construction in three phases from 1972 and completed in late ‘80’s. It was my fortune to be associated with this scheme as Supdt. Engineer for construction of the monument tower in 1982 which was completed in record time of 3 months by M/S Concord, using local technology of bamboo scaffolds. The site is a popular tourist spot and large number of locals and foreigners visit every day.
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(back)
The High Court Building at Dhaka is
at center.
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The following information
was obtained from:
dhakadailyphoto.blogspot.com
The High Court Building at
Dhaka
(For the full article, please refer to
the link above.)
The white coloured two-storey elegant building, crowned by a dome resting on a ring of columns, in the lush green of Ramna, opposite to Curzon Hall in Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue is popularly known as the ‘Old High Court Building’.
Approached through a triple-arched gateway in the south, this magnificent edifice stands at the centre of an extensive area originally designed to be the official residence of the Governor of the new province of ‘East Bengal when Assam’ created in 1905. The province (annulled in 1912) was created for improvement in the administration of the people of riverine areas handicapped by difficulty of communication, neglect and stagnant condition. With the creation of new province, the development and architectural trend saw a new turn, and quite a number of notable buildings, a blend of Mughal and European style, were erected in Dhaka.
During first phase of construction, the building was considered not befitting for the Governor's residence. Hence, the building was used as an office for sometime and then given to a college (Dhaka college).
After partition of India in 1947, this building became the seat of High Court of East Pakistan, and its rear wing, an office for Defense Ministry.
A new building for High Court was erected in the north during 60's and High Court moved there. Old building was given to the Defense Ministry. After independence of Bangladesh, additional expansion was taken up in the new High Court premises to accommodate Supreme Court and Bar Library.
The premise of the High Court bears a mausoleum between Old and new High court building. According to some, it is the tomb of Subader Islam Khan Chishti, the founder of Dhaka, as the mausoleum was once known as the Chishty Behesty's Mazaar.----------
The following information
was obtained from:
Wikipedia the online
Encyclopedia
Bangladesh
(For the full article, please refer to
the link above.)
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Myanmar to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south. Together with the Indian state of West Bengal, it makes up the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The name Bangladesh means "Country of Bengal" in the official Bengali language.
The borders of the region that constitutes present-day Bangladesh were established in the 1947 Partition of India when the region became the eastern wing of newly formed Pakistan. The pairing, based on their common religion (Islam), proved geographically awkward since an expanse of foreign Indian territory, 1 600 km (1 000 mi) wide, separated the two wings. Subjected to political and linguistic discrimination as well as economic neglect at the hands of West Pakistan, the Bengalis of East Pakistan declared independence in 1971. After a liberation war, with help from India and the USSR, Bangladesh was born. In spite of its liberation narrative, Bangladesh's development has since been marred by political turmoil, with fourteen different heads of government and at least four military coups.
Bangladesh is among the most densely populated countries in the world. The population is generally poor and rural. Geographically the country straddles the fertile Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta and is subject to annual monsoon floods and cyclones. The government is a parliamentary democracy which has been suspended under emergency law since 11 January 2007. Bangladesh is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, SAARC, BIMSTEC, the OIC and the D-8.
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For more information about Bangladesh visit:
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