Gaud

This article is about a town in Bangladesh. For the town in West Bengal, India, see Gour (West Bengal)

Gaud is a historical place in Chapai Nawabganj district of Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh. It once served as the capital of the Bengal Sultanate. Today the ruins of Gaud consist of several mosques, madrasha (Islamic school), gateways and fortification walls. They are spread across the Sona Masjid - Mahadipur border separating Bangladesh and India. Gour in India houses several historical structures from the same period.

Understand

Darasbari Mosque

Map showing the archaeological sites of Gouda, Bangladesh

Gauda was the medieval capital of Bengal. It is virtually in ruins. The ruins of the historical city are divided between Chapai Nawabganj district of Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh and Malda district of West Bengal, India. Once it was a well populated and magnificent city. The Muslim rulers, the Ilias Shah dynasty, built many monuments. Among those buildings some are located in the Bangladesh part of the city. These are all famous for their architectural beauty and have a great significance for the development of the Muslim architecture in Bengal. Though all of the monuments are now in badly damaged shape, the Archaeology Department of Bangladesh is trying to repair or reconstruct these.

Get in

Rajshahi (38 km) is the nearest major city. Buses are available but not frequent. Rajshahi hotels can arrange for cars for a day or over night tour of Gaud.

From India

Indian citizens with passports and necessary visas can travel across the Mahadipur - Choto Sona Masjid border. Similarly citizens of Bangladesh can cross the border. However, other nationals are not allowed to cross the land border.

Get around

Despite several historical sites the area lacks tourism facilities. There are hardly any local transports to get around.

Walk

The sites are located in a compact area and can be explored on foot

Auto

The hotel may arrange for auto (three wheeler)

Car

Tourists coming to Gaud in car, can continue the local sightseeing in the car

See

Tombs opposit Choto Sona Masjid

Shah Niamatullah Wali Mosque

Tomb of Shah Niamatullah Wali

• 1 Chhoto Sona Masjid (Small Golden Mosque). One of the most graceful monuments of the Sultanate period is the Chhota Sona Masjid or Small Golden Mosque built by one Wali Muhammad during the reign of Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah (1493-1519). Its larger counterpart the Bara Sona Masjid (Big Golden Mosque) lies on the other side of the border in Gour (West Bengal). At first glance, it appears to be a stone mosque but its core has a brick structure covered with stone. The masjid has a total of 15 domes out of which 9 are hemispherical and the three central domes follow the typical chala style. The front (eastern) face has 5 arched entrances and each of the north and south side have 3 entrances each. The mosque has shallow relief stone ornamentation on both the outer and inner sides, The interior has 5 miharabs and the northeastern corner has an elevated platform, probably used by the royals. The eastern side of the mosque houses a large walled courtyard. The south-east corner of the courtyard houses the graves of two martyrs of Bangladesh independence war of 1971. It is an active mosque, where regular namazs are held.  
• 2 Tombs opposite Choto Soma Masjid. Just opposite the Choto Sona Masjid Complex is a cluster of medieval tombs. The site houses several scattered stone tombs, including two large tombs located on an elevated platform. This is believed to contain the mortal remains of the mosque builder Wali Muhammad and his wife. (updated Aug 2024)
• 3 Tahkhana Complex (Next to Zahedulbala pond). The Tahkhana Complex houses three separate structures. The structures are related to Shah Niamatullah. Niamatullah was the spiritual guru of Shah Shuja, the elder brother of Aurangzeb. Shah Suja served as a subedar of Bengal and made frequent visits to his spiritual guru. (updated Jun 2024)
  • 4 Tahkhana (Southern most of the three structure). The white two-storied building with 17 rooms served as a multipurpose building. Two octagonal rooms on the northwest were used for namaaz. The southern section contains a hammam. The other rooms served as dining and meeting places. It was built by Shah Niamatullah.  
  • 5 Shah Niyamatullah Mosque. The masjid is built by Shah Shuja as a tribute to his spiritual guru Niamatullah. It is a three-domed mosque and with minarets at the four corners. The front part (east) part of the masjid consists of a walled elevated courtyard. The entrance to the courtyard is through a gateway from the east. The courtyard wall contains slender corner turrets and have decorative lattice screens. 
  • 6 Shahi Niamatullah Mazar (Northern part of Tahkhana complex). The tomb contains the mortal remains of Shah Niamatullah. Niamatullah died in 1664 (another source 1669) and was laid to rest in the tomb, which had previously been built by Shah Shuja. The single domed structure has arched gateways on all four sides. The corner has slender minerates.  
• 7 Khania Dighi Masjid (Located next to Khania Digi, Dighi means pond)). The Khania Dighi Masjid is a small brick-built mosque with a single dome. The mosque has a porch on the eastern side. The porch is topped with three small domes and has a triple arch entrance. The main structure and the porch have corner minars, Thus the mosque has a total of six minners. The small but elegant mosque has beautiful terracotta ornamentation depicting intricate floral and geometric design.  
• 8 Darasbari Masjid. The mosque is built by Yusuf Shah in 1479. It is a large mosque which once had 21 domes. The entire roof with the domes has long collapsed. The mosque has a porch on the east the roof of which has also collapsed. There are 7 arched entrances on the east. The north and south sides each have three arched entrances. Ther are no corner turrets or minars. The brick built mosque has intricate terracotta ornamentation, which is restricted only to floral and geometric design. Unlike the other medieval mosques of the region, the Darasbari Mosque is abandoned.  
• 9 Darashbari Madrasha (Located next to Darashbari Masjid). The word ‘Darasbari’ is a place of learning and next to the mosque lies the ruins of a madrasa (Islamic school). The madrasa came up in 1504 during the reign of Hussain Shah. The madrasah has 40 rooms surrounding an open courtyard. There are gates on three sides except the west which houses a room with three mihrabs. The ruins of the mosque were excavated in 1970. The Darashbari Mosque and Madrasha are surrounded by mango orchard and a dirt road meandering past a pond connects the two historical structures. (updated Jun 2024)
• 10 Dhunichak Masjid. It is a brick-built mosque with six domes and seven arched entrances. Out of the seven, five are located on the eastern side. The north and south sides have two entrances each. Each of the four corners has octagonal turrets. The mosque also has terracotta ornamentation. Nothing is known about the history of the mosque. 
• 11 Kotwali Darwaza ((in India)). Although located in Gour (West Bengal), India the gate is visible from Bangladesh side. Kotwali Darwaza once functioned as the southern gateway of the citadel of Gour. The name is probably derived from the Persian word Kotwal, literally meaning police chief. Apart from the rampant walls nothing much remains of the 15th-century gateway. Today it serves as a check post for the Border Security Force (BSF) of India. (updated Dec 2024)

Sleep

• 1 Parjatan Motel. Run by Parjatan (Tourism), Bangladesh 

Go next

• Rajshahi
• Gour (West Bengal), India - The ruins of Gour are spread across the border ana hence could be part of a cross-border tourism

Gauḍa (city)