The Shat Gambuj Mosque is one of the greatest tourist attractions and best architectural beauties of Bangladesh. It is one of the oldest mosques of Bangladesh. It is situated in city of Bagerhat under the Khulna division. Bagerhat district is located in the south west of Bangladesh which is about 200 miles away from the Capital of Bangladesh (Dhaka). Here “Shat” means “Sixty” and “Gambuj” means “Pillar”. “Shat” is a Bengali word and “Gambuj” is an Arabic or Urdu word. The mosque has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO under criteria (IV), "as an outstanding example of an architectural ensemble which illustrates a significant stage in human history" in 1983. This is a great tourist attraction of Bangladesh and also the South Asia.
Bagerhat city was founded a Muslim colony near the seacoast in the District of Bagerhat in mid 15th century by the saint Ulugh Khan Jahan. He was a warrior, Turkish general and saint. He was well known for his unique capability in the administration and a builder, but also as a Pir (a saintly person). In the reign, he was one of the earliest torchbearers of Islam. In the 15th century this Bagerhat town known as Khalifatabad and nicknamed the "Mint Town of the Bengal Sultanate".
This historic city is spread over an area of 50 square kilometers on the banks of the Bhairab River. It is one of the 15 lost cities in the world. More than 50 Islamic monuments have been found after many centuries. This district was a part of the Sundarbans mangrove forest.
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The Shat Gambuj Mosque is a Tughlaq styled mosque. This mosque constructed in the mid 15th century (1440) and it is completed in the year1459 with 60 pillars that support 77 exquisitely curved "low squat domes". This mosque lay over an area of 160 feet (49 m) x108 feet (33 m) size. That means it is 160 feet long and 108 feet wide. This historic mosque described the golden era of Muslim Bengal. This mosque has seven four sided central domes. The wall of this mosque is 6 feet (1.8 m) thick with a slight taper over the hollow and round walls.
Khan Jahan Ali used this mosque for prayers and it was also used as an assembly hall and Madrassa. This mosque has four towers. Seventy seven domes are over the roof and four smaller ones at the four corners of towers. Two towers were used to call Azan. The vast prayer hall has 11 arched doorways on the east and 7 each on the north and south. These doors are provides ventilation and light in the hall. There are also 7 longitudinal aisles and 11 deep bays in the midst of slim columns made of stone. These columns support the curving arches that are overlaid by the domes. The west wall of this mosque is decorated with stonework and terracotta and the flooring is of brickwork. It has eleven mihrabs. The full mosque is a wonderful archeological beauty which is the signature of 15th century.
Most of the damages of this mosque have been rectified. It is a great pleasure for us that, the UNESCO has been recognized this Shat Gambuj Mosque as a World Heritage Site in 1983. Besides these monuments, UNESCO also includes among the unique monuments: the mausoleum of Khan Jahan, Bibi Begni, and the mosques of Singar, Zindavir and Reza Khoda. At present a picnic spot has been established near this heritage site at the historical Ghora Dighi. It is the largest historical mosque of Bangladesh. If you come Bangladesh, don’t miss to visit this wonderful historic mosque in the South Asia.