Historical Tara Mosque of Old Dhaka

The Dhaka Times Desk good morning Friday, 23 August 2019 Christ, 8 Bhadra 1426 Bangabd, 21 Jilhaj 1440 Hijri. Good morning everyone from The Dhaka Times. Happy birthday to all those whose birthday is today - happy birthday.

The mosque you are seeing in the picture is Tara Masjid located on Abul Khairat Road, Armanitola, Old Dhaka. It is a historical mosque.

Adi Tara Masjid has no dated inscriptions. However, it is known from historical sources that (source: SM Taifur, 1956) the ancestor of the builder of this mosque, Mirza Ghulam Pir, came to Dhaka and started living in 'Mahalla Ale Abu Syed' or present Armanitola. This mosque was built by Mirza Ghulam Pir, so the mosque is also known as Mirza Sahib's Mosque. Mirza Ghulam Pir died in 1860; So it appears that this mosque was built in the early 19th century.

They were 10.06 meters in length and 4.04 meters in width in the original mosque. Zulla had 3 mihrabs in the western wall corresponding to the 3 entrances in the eastern wall. The central mihrab is slightly larger than the two mihrabs on either side. The central dome of the mosque was also higher and comparatively larger than the two domes on either side. The construction of the central dome follows the arched 'squinch' method as a means of converting the square into a circle.

It is known that the original Tara Mosque was not rich in Naxalankara like the present Tara Mosque. The broken and bare wall at the back bears witness to that. Among the doors of this mosque, the 3 doors on the southern side are ancient. In 1926 Alijan Bepari spent a lot of money and increased the shape of the mosque by adding a balcony to the east side of this mosque. This only increases the width direction. The facade of the mosque is formed by 4 pillars and 5 arches. On the other hand, by expanding the width by 3.99 meters, they double the width of the mosque ie 7.98 meters. No changes were made in the original layout of the mosque during this period of expansion. However, colorful glazed tiles of various designs are added.

It is known that in 1987, when the 3-domed Tara Mosque was converted into a 5-domed mosque, the length of the mosque increased. However, no change has been made in the width. The currently extended mosque is 21.34 meters long and 7.98 meters wide. One mihrab was also demolished and 2 new domes and 3 new mihrabs were added to change the 5-domed mosque. 5 archways were created to enter the mosque's julla. These arches are multi-fluted and raised from 4 octagonal pillars. Fully mosaic design inside and outside the mosque.

Source: http://bn.banglapedia.org