Lalbagh Kella (Fort)

Lalbagh Kella (Fort)
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The construction of the fort was commenced in 1678 AD by prince muhammad azam during his 15 month long vice-royalty of Bengal, but before he could complete the work he was recalled by aurangzeb. His successor, shaista khan did not continue the work, though he stayed in Dhaka up to 1688. His daughter bibi pari (Lady Fairy) died here in 1684 and this led him to consider the fort to be ominous.

In 1684, the daughter of Shaista Khan named Iran Dukht Pari Bibi died there. After her death, he started to think the fort as unlucky, and left the structure incomplete. Among the three major parts of Lalbagh Fort, one is the tomb of Pari Bibi.

After Shaista Khan left Dhaka, it lost its popularity. The main cause was that the capital was moved from Dhaka to Murshidabad. After the end of the royal Mughal period, the fort became abandoned. In 1844, the area acquired its name as Lalbagh replacing Aurangabad, and the fort became Lalbagh Fort.

How to Go:
This Lalbag Kella (লালবাগ কেল্লা) is located at the Older part of Dhaka. It is very easy to access. You can ask any rickshaw puller from Gulistan (গুলিস্তান) to drop you there. The GPS coordinate of the fort is (23°43'10.73"N, 90°23'17.28"E).

Ticket, Opening and Closing:
This fort remains open Tuesday to Saturday. The ticket price is 5 taka for the kids. And 20 taka for the adults. For the foreigner its 100 taka per person.

The river Burigonga (বুড়িগঙ্গা) is very near from this place. You can have a boat ride from there if you have time in hand. Around the rainy season the Burigonga (বুড়িগঙ্গা) river very enjoyable for the visitors. GPS coordinate of Sowari Ghat (সোয়ারী ঘাট) beside the Burigonga (বুড়িগঙ্গা) river is (23°42'40.46"N, 90°23'40.06"E).

Lalbagh Fort Mosque:

There is a mosque in kellah, Azam Shah to Delhi before he went to the mosque. This three-domed mosque that some attention. The mosque is the prayer in congregation. There are so very few of the old mosque in Dhaka.
The three-domed Lalbagh Fort Mosque in the Fort compound