Natalie and I love to explore the city of Dhaka on our weekends. Here in Dhaka, Friday and Saturday are the ‘weekends.’ So Yesterday we decided to kick it back tourist style. Nat and I realized we haven’t really explored all the areas of the city that a tourist would want visit even though we have been here for more than a month. We have been keeping busy with our teaching duties and hanging out at our local ‘spots.’ So we decided to take a walking tour. Nat found this group called Urban Study Group on TripAdvisor and the reviews were great so we decided to go. The tour was in an area of Dhaka called Sutrapur which is just a small part of Puran Dhaka or ‘Old Dhaka.’
We arrived at the police station where the tour group was to meet. There was a large crowd of young Bengali men and two other people who looked more like tourists. We started to introduce ourselves around and started to get to know everyone. The format was very relaxed and we left in our walking tour just a few minutes after we arrived. The tour was focused on the Architecture of Puran Dhaka and we were to visit 5 sites. Each of our many tour guides had areas of the neighborhood which were special to them and which they were well versed. It was really surprising to me to meet young people who were so passionate about trying to preserve these historical buildings and the rich history of Dhaka itself.
We went to 5 locations around old Dhaka with our swarm of new friends. We fielded questions of all types from these curious locals and had a few laughs along the way. We saw so many once majestic facades which were now dilapidated and defunct. A lot of these mansions were abandoned due to riots taking place in Dhaka in the 1940’s in relation to the Indian-Pakistan Partition. Many of these buildings have been turned into quarters for local firemen and their families or dormitories for local students. We had an impromptu Cricket lesson from some university students and were almost knocked out by a rogue cricket ball.
Some buildings had been turned into thriving vegetable and spice markets but none were even close to being restored to their former glory. The frustration with the government’s lack of concern for these rich historical relics of Old Dhaka was very evident from our tour guides. This organization Urban Study Group has been working hard to lobby the government to preserve and hopefully someday restore these historical buildings.
Nat and I had a great day, made some new friends and explored an unchartered part of the city. Sometimes it feels great to just step outside and experience your surroundings.
Nat and I had a great day, made some new friends and explored an unchartered part of the city. Sometimes it feels great to just step outside and experience your surroundings.