Mainamati, it's a popular tourist attraction of Bangladesh.
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Mainamati is an area with several important ancient and ruins Buddhist archaeological sites in
Bangladesh. This area is located near Comilla city, which is about 100 km from Dhaka. It took us about an hour and a half to reach Mainamati from
Dhaka city. There are several sites in Mainamati, many of them fall inside the cantonment. The place to visit is the Shalban Bihar, which was a Buddhist enclave built by Shri Bhavadeva in 8AD . On this foundation, several repairs and rebuilding have been done over the ages. The name of the site suggests that in some distant past, it must have been
a secluded spot surrounded by shal trees (This is famous for being the kind of tree under which the Buddha lay down to die). Presently, there are several residences in the vicinity and no shal trees in sight (though in all honesty, I would not be the best person to identify one). Nevertheless, it is still nice place to see.
Mainamati, an isolated low, dimpled range of hills, dotted with more than 50 ancient Buddhist settlements of the 8th to 12th century A.D. known as Mainamati-Lalmai range are extended through the center of the district of Comilla.
Salban Vihara, almost in the middle of the Mainamati Lalmai hill range consists of 115 cells, built around a spacious courtyard with cruciform temple in the centre facing its only gateway complex to the north resembling that, of the Paharpur Monastery.
Kutila Mura situated on a flattened hillock, about 5 km. north of Salban Vihara inside the Comilla Cantonment is a picturesque Buddhist establishment. Here three stupas are found side by side representing the Buddhist 'Trinity' or three jewels i.e. the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
Charpatra Mura is an isolated small oblong shrine situated about 2.5-km. northwest of Kutila Mura stupas. The orily approach to the shrine is from the east through a gateway which leads to a spacious hall.
The Mainamati site Museum has a rich and varied collection of copper plates, gold and silver coins and 86 bronze objects. Over 150 bronze statues have been recovered mostly from the monastic cells, bronze stupas, stone sculptures and hundreds of terracotta plaques each measuring on an average of 9" high and 8" to 12" wide.
World war II cemetery, Mainamati become a important and holly place. In a well preserved cemetery at a quiet and picturesque place within the city, a place of historic interest, buried in eternal peace are over 755 soldiers who laid down their lives on the Indo-Burma Front during the World War II. Most of the soldiers buried there were from Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand , Great India( modern Bangladesh, India and Pakistan), Burma, East & West Africa, Netherlands and Japan. The total area of the cemetery is eight acres and it is protected and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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