'Heritage' is what we inherit from the past, live with in the present and then pass on to our children or future generation. Our unique source of life and inspiration is our cultural and natural heritage. When we speak of 'World Heritage', it indicates places and sites that we inherited from the past and pass on to the future generation of the entire world.
The 'Shat Gambuj Mosque' in Bagerhat is such a heritage. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Originally, the historic Mosque City was known as 'Khalifatabad'. It is situated at the outskirts of Bagerhat town...... not very far from the dense mangrove forest of the Sundarbans. Khalifatabad was a Muslim colony. It was founded by the Turkish general, a saint warrior Ulugh Khan Jahan in the 15th century. The infrastructure of the city reveals significant technical skills in many mosques as well as early Islamic monuments. Baked bricks were used for the construction of the buildings. The planning of the city was dominated by the tradition of Islamic architecture and the decorations were a combination of Mughal and Turkish architecture.
Khan Jahan built a network of roads, bridges, public buildings and reservoirs to make the city habitable. There were about 360 mosques in the city. Among them the most remarkable is the multi-domed Shat Gombuj Mosque. The mosque is unique in the sense that it has 60 pillars that support the roof, with 77 low height domes. The 4 towers at 4 corners have smaller domes at the top as well. The vast prayer hall has 11 arched doorways on the east and 7 each on the north and south for light and ventilation. It has 7 aisles running along the length of the mosque and 11 deep curves between the slender stone columns. These columns support the curving arches created by the domes. The thickness of the arches is 6 feet and have slightly narrowing hollow and round wall.
The west wall in the interior has 11 'mihrabs' (niche in mosque pointing towards Makkah). These mihrabs are decorated with stonework and terracotta. The floor of the mosque is made of brick. Besides being used as a prayer hall, Khan Jahan used the mosque as his court too. Today, it is one of the greatest tourist attractions and one of the best architectural beauties of Bangladesh.
Choose the best answer from alternatives.
(a) 'Heritage' means -----.
(i) that we got from the past
(ii) that we enjoy in the present
(iii) that we pass to the future
(iv) that we get from the past, enjoy in the present and convey it to the future
(b) The synonym of the word 'unique' is -----.
(i) unparalleled
(ii) inspirable
(iii) remarkable
(iv) supportable
(c) What is the antonym of the word 'reveal'?
(i) disclose
(ii) display
(iii) disguise
(iv) recall
(d) The Shat Gambuj Mosque was declared World Heritage Site -----.
(i) in 1885
(ii) in 1985
(iii) in 1987
(iv) in 1888
(e) Which of the following has made the Shat Gambuj Mosque the most significant?
(i) its Turkish design
(ii) its being a World Heritage Site
(iii) its being an ancient mosque
(iv) its combination of Turkish and Mughal architecture
(f) Where is Khalifatabad situated?
(i) at the edge of Bagerhat town
(ii) in the middle of Bagerhat town
(iii) at the border of Khulna
(iv) at a long distance from Sundarbans
(g) Which of the following sentences is correct?
(i) the city was founded with an Islamic architecture
(ii) people from different community lived in Khalifatabad
(iii) Mughal skills is everywhere in the mosque
(iv) UNESCO has enhanced the mosque's attraction
(b) (i) unparalleled
(c) (iii) disguise
(d) (ii) in 1985
(e) (iv) its combination of Turkish and Mughal architecture
(f) (i) at the edge of Bagerhat town
(g) (iv) UNESCO has enhanced the mosque's attraction