Dhaka is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. The following pictures were mostly compiled from across the web by forumers at Skyscrapercity, principally Tmac, who occasionally posts at this site too (I do not know the names of the original photographers). Over the course of the next week or two I hope to post info and pics about the main areas of Dhaka. For today I am only posting some pics of some of the more significant landmarks. Enjoy!
Lalbagh Fort (partial view)
Ahsan Manzil Museum
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Dhaka University
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Supreme Court
National Assembly (Parliament)
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National Memorial Monument
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some history for those who are interested: Dhaka was founded as the capital of Mughal Bengal about 1608 and prospered as the focal point to a lucrative textiles trade and rich agricultural hinterland. In this period the city was probably one of the largest in the world. Shift of capital to Murshidabad in 1704 caused a decrease in importance but the city remained prosperous until destruction of textiles industry after advent of British rule in 1757. Thereafter, the city declined rapidly, with most of its Mughal era monuments falling into ruin and population decreasing to a fraction of its 17th century heyday. In the 18th cent. the city staged a modest recovery thanks to a boom in worldwide demand for jute, which was grown principally in Bengal. The city began to wake from its slumber when it once again, briefly, served as provincial capital (1905-1912), and with foundation of Dhaka University (1921), which quickly became one of the best in Asia at that time. End of British rule and partition of Bengal saw Dhaka become capital of East Pakistan (1947-1971). Although beautiful buildings were built during both British and Pakistani periods, they were times of economic stagnation and exploitation by the foreign rulers. Following a destructive liberation war, Dhaka finally became capital of a sovereign nation in 1971. The first two decades of this era were marked by political instability and slow development, but the pace of progress has gathered steam since the 1990s. Dhaka today is a booming, vibrant, and chaotic city which by all estimates will soon (once again) be one of the largest in the world.
Dhaka Highrises
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Dhaka Tour - Old Dhaka
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Old Dhaka is southernmost part of the city, lying on the north bank of the Buriganga River. This was the extent of the city until 1905. With demand for new construction and low priority given to architectural conservation, not many of the city’s historic monuments survive. Among Mughal monuments, the Lalbagh Fort has been fairly well preserved, in addition to several mosques. Also from the Mughal period, a couple of formerly impressive caravanserais exist in a ruinous state. Besides mosques, there are a number of historic temples and churches. There are many beautiful and grand, but decaying, colonial era buildings, especially mansions. Of these, the Ahsan Manzil has been restored and serves as a museum.
At Present Dhaka
Dhaka Tour - Motijheel (pics in next post)
East of Ramna is Motijheel, developed from the 1950s as the first modern downtown of the city. Motijheel remained the main commercial center of the city until the 1990s, when areas further to the north became the main foci of development. Since then Motijheel has declined somewhat, and today isn't the most attractive area of town. However, there are still some important institutions headquartered here and there is some interesting modern architecture. Also, Motijheel is still home to Dhaka's current, as well as future tallest building.
