Barisal: Korapur Mia Bari Mosque

It was the fourth and final day of our great four days trip. Due to the political upheaval, all kind of transportation (towards Dhaka) were blocked last night. And we were also unsure about tonight’s transport schedules as well. So we have checked at the Parabat (পারাবত) booking counter regarding our launch’s schedule & condition. They have replaced our cabin from Parabat-2 (পারাবত-২) to Parabat-9 (পারাবত-৯), and confirmed that it would go timely.

So, the tension disappeared! We have adjusted our tour itinerary a bit, and decided to visit only few from the long list. And it was the Korapur Mia Bari Mosque (কড়াপুর মিয়া বাড়ি মসজিদ). I didn’t have the exact GPS position for this mosque before going there. Also I didn’t have a proper direction either. So I have hired a battery driven vehicle and explained my plan to the driver. But unfortunately he didn’t understand my instruction (I found that later).

The driver was not familiar about the mosque, and the village. In fact its a large village that is divided into four sections based on the north, south, etc. So we have asked for direction from the local people (also showed them the picture of the mosque) and they have misguided us several times. The driver (I called him Chacha, means uncle) got a phone call from his wife and he was showing some sort of urgency to return back his house immediately. But I forced him to find the mosque for us as it was the deal.

The Chacha was in a great hurry and for that we have gone into a wrong direction several times. Later he tried to transfer us into another vehicle, but no one wanted to take us. What a sad looking sight it was for him! I was always laughing loudly for his activities. He was always uttering that he has been cursed by the evil eye of Saturn and that’s why he was with us. And you know what happened next? Some guys were transferring a huge log from one side of the road to another. And that just blocked that village road, and we were stuck there for around 30 minutes (and he was in a hurry =)) ). And I can still imagine the sad looking face of our Chacha. It was such a helpless face. I couldn’t resist myself from laughing. And our hapless Chacha started to laugh with me, and was sitting for the road to be cleared. Probably it was the most funniest moment from this four days trip! Later we have found another vehicle and release our Chacha and continued our travel travel with him for the remaining of the day.

About the Mosque:

Korapur Mia Bari Mosque (কড়াপুর মিয়া বাড়ি মসজিদ) is an old mosque from the Barisal district (বরিশাল জেলা). I do not know much about this mosque, and also didn’t find too much information from internet as well. This is located at the village Uttor Korapur of Barisal Sadar (উত্তর কড়াপুর, বরিশাল সদর). The mosque is located at the Mia Bari (মিয়া বাড়ি) of that area. It is believed that the mosque was built during 18th century. They have painted the mosque recently, and also doing some sort of restoration now. And thus it lost it’s antiquity entirely. What a pity!

This mosque is built over a high plinth. Or, may be its batter to call it a high basement instead of a plinth. Inside the basement it has several rooms at ground floor. These days it is being used as a resident for the student of nearby Madrasa (মাদ্রাসা). There is a wide stair available to reach at the mosque that is at the second floor.

It is a rectangular shaped mosque having three small sized domes at the top where the middle one is slightly larger than the other twos. The mosque has total eight minarets with four at front and four at the back side walls. Apart from these, there are several small minarets available in between. All the minarets and the upper portion of the mosque is highly decorated. At the eastern side of the mosque it has a very large water pond.

How to Go:

You can come to Barisal (বরিশাল) using bus or using launch. But the safest, and the relaxing one will be the launch. You can have your night sleep inside the cabin of the launch. There are several launches start for Barisal (বরিশাল) every night from the Sadarghat (সদরঘাট). I have used the Parabat-2 (পারাবত-২) and it was a good one.

The mosque is located at the Uttor Korapur (উত্তর কড়াপুর) village. It will be better if you hire a battery driven vehicle from Barisal town (বরিশাল টাউন). And the easiest road will be the Nobogram Road (নবগ্রাম রোড) from Barisal town (বরিশাল টাউন). So ask your driver to use that road. GPS coordinate of the mosque is (22°43’26.72″N, 90°17’20.10″E). And try to plot it on your map. You’ll get the easiest direction there.

It was the day-4 of our four days trip at Southern Bangladesh. We have traveled Barisal (বরিশাল), Jhalokathi (ঝালকাঠি), Pirojpur (পিরোজপুর), Bagerhat (বাগেরহাট), and Khulna (খুলনা) in those days.

This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icwow.blogspot.com/