Atia Mosque

The Atia mosque was built about 1610, at the point where the Bengali sultanate manner was giving way to Mughal building, and it shows both: a single square prayer hall with one large dome and three smaller ones over a veranda, engaged corner towers, and a curved cornice from the older tradition, with the whole brick surface covered in moulded terracotta panels of rosettes, hanging lamps, chains and floral bands. The decoration is the reason it matters, and it is among the more completely covered brick surfaces of its date in Bengal. It was restored after earthquake damage. The building appeared on the ten taka note for many years, which made it familiar to everyone in the country.

History

An inscription from the mosque, now in the Bangladesh National Museum, dates it to 1610-1611, in the reign of the Mughal emperor Jahangir, who granted the pargana of Atia to Sayeed Khan Panni, son of Bayazid Khan Panni of Karatia; Panni had it built in honour of the Sufi saint Shahan Shah Baba Adam Kashmiri, who died in 1507 and whose tomb stands close by. Damaged by an earthquake early in the 19th century, the mosque was repaired in 1837 by Rowshun Khatoon Chowdhurani, a woman merchant from Delhi, and again in 1909 by the zamindar Abu Ahmad Ghuznavi Khan of Delduar with other local zamindars (Wikipedia, Atia Mosque).

What you'll find

• Moulded terracotta covering the brick - rosettes, lamps and floral bands.
• A curved sultanate cornice - the older Bengali roof line on a Mughal-period building.
• One large dome over three - the prayer hall and its veranda.
• The banknote building - the mosque printed on the ten taka note.

When to go

November to March, outside prayer times. One hour. Friday midday is not a time for visitors. Modest dress and shoes off. Morning light picks out the terracotta best.

What to expect

Restoration has replaced some terracotta and the new work is visible. It is a working mosque and access depends on prayer times. It is small and the visit is short. Tangail is a long drive from Dhaka.

Nearby

Tangail is north; Mahera lies south.

Key facts