The Mughal mosque of Karwan Bazar

Illustration: Ashif Ahmed Rudro; Photo: Shadab Shahrokh Hai

One might say that Karwan Bazar is not exactly an area where people look for history and heritage. The bustling marketplace is all about wholesalers and haggling and grocery shopping. But did you know that the locality is also home to a mosque that is more than three centuries old?

Being on the side of the road leading to the Sonargaon/Karwan Bazar Circle, you have surely commuted past the Mughal mosque thousands of times! You may have also caught tiny glimpses of it from the road, although the rush of the circumstances often denies you to think any further about this Dhaka gem. 

Founded in circa 1680, historians call it the mosque of Khwaja Ambar, stating that Ambar was the "head eunuch" of subahdar Nawab Shaista Khan.  

In olden times, there was also a bridge nearby — referred to as Khwaja Ambar's bridge — which has long disappeared. 

Sources: "Dacca: A Record of its Changing Fortunes" by Ahmad Hasan Dani; "Notes on the Antiquities of Dacca" by Sayid Aulad Hasan