The Chunkhola Mosque is located in the village of Chunakhola (once named after the abundance of limestone extract) in a paddy field about a kilometer northwest of the sixty-domed mosque, built in the 15th century. The architecture of the mosque is recognized as representative of the differences from the architecture of Saul Khan Jahan Ali. This square mosque is about 40 feet long on the outside and 25 feet on the inside. The walls are about 7-8 feet wide. The mosque has 3 entrances on the east side and one entrance on the north and south sides. It has three arched mihrabs, of which the middle mihrab is relatively large. Each mihrab has various flower and herb carvings on it. The rectangular central mihrab extends beyond the traditional nine walls and rises to the ceiling. The huge hemispherical dome across the entire roof is placed on the squinch on the inside.
The four minarets at the four corners of the exterior of the mosque are divided according to the Khan Jahani style by round and fixed bands at fixed distances. The three corners of the building are curved according to the traditional Bengali architecture. The lower part of the mihrabs has gone a little deeper into the ground. Decorations include latticework, floral and herb designs, connected circles, hexagonal rectangles, and conventional hanging motifs. At present these ornaments can be seen only in the niche of the mihrab, above the arch, and on the curved rakanish. According to local legend, the mosque was built by an employee of Khan Jahan. Regular prayers are still offered at Chunakhol Mosque.
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How to get there
From Saidabad in Dhaka, every day from 8 am to 10 am and from 6 pm to 10 pm many vehicles leave – Meghna (01717388553), Banful, Tourist (01711131078), Falguni, Ara, Baleshwar, Hamim.
Besides, Sohag (01718679302), Shakura (01711010450), Hanif, and Eagle Paribahan left Gabtali. Rent 300 to 400 rupees. The journey takes about 6 hours. You can take the intercity train Sundarbans Express to Khulna and then take a bus to Bagerhat. It takes about 40 minutes to reach Bagerhat from Rupsha. The sixty-domed mosque is seven kilometers from the bus stand and the sixty-domed mosque is three kilometers west of Khan Jahan Ali’s tomb. Rickshaw fare 30 rupees. On the north-west side of the sixty-domed mosque, go straight to the west bypassing the Ghoda Dighi. Going a little further inside, you can see the Chunakhola Mosque.
Where will you stay?
There are various hotels in Bagerhat Sadar. There are also government guesthouses. Here you can stay at the Mumtaz Hotel on Rail Road. The hotel has fewer facilities but the quality of the service is quite good and the cost is a bit high. There are also a few more hotels to stay in the vicinity of this hotel. Moreover, you can stay at Hotel Avi on the main highway in front of Khan Jahan Ali’s shrine. Rent 400 Tk. Phone: 01833742623. Apart from this, for staying in Bagerhat, Hotel Al Amin (0468-63168, 01718692737, AC dual room Tk. 1000, non-AC room 100 to 400 Tk) and Hotel Mohana (0468-63075, 1722858313 in Karmakar Patti) There are non-AC rooms for Tk 100 to Tk 400 It takes 1 hour to reach Bagerhat from Khulna, so you can stay in Khulna.
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