Throughout the day it was bright, sunny, and terribly hot. It was winter, and out of nothing the clouds were gathering above us. We were expecting a heavy shower sooner or later (you can have a hint from the clouds of the photos of this article). After visiting the Singair Mosque we have decided to visit the Mazar of Khan Jahan Ali. It was very near from that place. We have parked our car in front of the Mazar complex and started exploring the area. I have been there twice before in last 15 years.
The whole Mazar complex has two main edifices (one is a mosque, and another one is a tomb) along with a large water tank and few graves. The right side complex is the tomb. People believe that the tomb has grave inside and it could be of Khan Jahan Ali who was a saint general of 15th century. But many scholars though doubt about it (they believe it’s someone else). As a traveler, it is not my duty to verify this. On an inscription it is written that he died at 24-25 October of 1459. Lot of people use to come here everyday for praying. People call this as Mazar.
The architecture of the tomb is similar to any contemporary single dome mosque of that time. Right now the authority has painted the tomb with white and pink. That means it lost its antiquity totally (or you have to wait for a washout of the paints). Previously only the men were allowed to enter inside for prayer (not sure about current situation). During this visit I didn’t enter inside.
There is a mosque available at the western side of the mosque. It is having a similar shape and size. For this case the authority has painted the dome only. So the red walls are visible here from the Southern and Western side. Around the mosque and the Mazarthere are lot of graves exists which could be from that period. The entrance of the mosque premise was locked. That’s why we couldn’t enter inside the premise.
There is a very large water tank exists at the Southern side of the mosque. Visitors use to take a bath here as they think this could be a holy one and it could cure their sickness (or any disease from which they are suffering). 600 years back there were two crocodiles in this pond named Kalapahar and Dholapahar owned by Khan Jahan Ali. Their offspring were existed even till 2005. But nothing left these days anymore.
Though most of the visitors pay a visit here for praying purpose. But lot of picnic parties use to come here (i.e. study tour). If you visit this place during Friday or Saturday, then you’ll find such activities there.
How to Go:
Once again this is another landmark from the Bagerhat district. First come to Bagerhat or Khulna. Then come to the Khan Jahan Ali bus stoppage which is just a few steps walking distance from the Mazar. GPS coordinate of the Mazar complex is (22°39’38.81″N, 89°45’30.54″E).
Where to Stay:
Bagerhat is very near from the Khulna town. Around 40 minutes of drive at maximum. And Khulna is a divisional district. It has several international standard hotels along with plenty of cheap hotels. You can check in those for your night staying. I have stayed at the Royal International Hotel, an old and famous hotel from Khulna. And I always go for the old but famous hotels. The reason is, they are always classy, and everyone knows about location. Just ask anyone from Khulna about this hotel from anywhere around there :-).
It was the day-2 of our four days trip at Southern Bangladesh. We have traveled Barisal, Jhalokathi, Pirojpur, Bagerhat, and Khulna in those days.
Khan Jahan Ali Mazar,
Union: Shat Gombuz,
Upazela: Bagerhat Sadar,
District: Bagerhat,
Country: Bangladesh,
GPS coordinate: (22°39’38.81″N, 89°45’30.54″E)
This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://alonelytraveler.com/
Saturday, 03 January 2015
