LALBAGH FORT

Lalbagh Fort is in Dhaka what the Eiffel Tower is in Paris or the Empire State Building in New York. It is on all tourist brochures of the city and is the only heritage of the Mughal era in the town. Founded at the end of the th century by Muhammad Azam, son of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, it remains unfinished. Muhammad Azam began construction in 1678, while he was vice-king of Bengal. But 15 months later, he was recalled by his father in Delhi. Construction stops and the fort includes only two buildings: a mosque and a hearing room (diwan-i-mao). Dhaka's new subedar, Shaista Khan, leaves the palace as it is when he takes the political control of the city. Her daughter Gamble Bibi died in 1684. It creates a mausoleum decorated with marble, basalt and colour glazed tiles. The grave was completed in 1688 and Shaista Khan refused to carry out further work. In 1704, the capital of Bengal moved from Dhaka to Murshidabad, in the current West Bengal in India. The fort is left out and has administrative offices until the mid th century. It is now under the responsibility of the Archaeological Department and hosts nearly 3 million visitors per year.

Access to the fort of Lalbagh is carried out by the north door. The Shrine of Pari Bibi faces you, the hearing hall is on the left and the mosque on the right. Only the estimators-i-mao visits and includes a small museum of objects dating from the Mughal period: miniature paintings, weapons, coins, carpets… By crossing the impressive ark you can access the palace steam bath. The landscaped gardens are crossed by basins and underground pipes that reflect the importance of water in the imperial courtyards. You can climb on the esplanade above the old administrative offices of the fort. From here you will see the whole site in one look. The building located at the south-east end of the site is described as "tower of hanged". They cage and carried out the prisoners who were then thrown into a trap that led directly to the Buriganga River. If you visited Delhi Fort or Agra in India, you will probably be disappointed by the Lalbagh, much less successful. Nevertheless, it accurately reflects the finesse of Mughal architecture.