Lalbagh Fort (Tomb of Pari Bibi)

Lalbagh Fort is an unfinished Mughal fort in the old city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. "Lalbagh" means "Red Garden", after its neighbourhood, and the fort was first called Fort Aurangabad. It was meant to be the residence of the governor of Bengal, which was then a province of the Mughal Empire.

Work began in 1678 under Prince Muhammad Azam Shah, a son of Emperor Aurangzeb. When his father recalled him after about 15 months, the governor Shaista Khan took over. The building stopped when Shaista Khan's daughter, Pari Bibi, died, and today the fort is one of the most visited places in Dhaka.

An unfinished fort

Pari Bibi's name means "Fairy Lady". After her death Shaista Khan seemingly thought the fort carried bad luck and halted the work. She was buried inside the fort, and her tomb is the centrepiece. The fort was designed as a miniature version of great Mughal forts such as the Red Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. Once it stood beside the Buriganga River, but the river has since drifted away.

What you can see

The complex includes the governor's two-story hall, called the Diwan-i-Aam, with a bathhouse beside it, a mosque, and the tomb. The three main buildings stand in a line and are connected by a water channel with fountains. Lawns, gateways and old cannon complete the scene, and the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation has helped pay for restoration of parts of the fort.

On the globe

The model shows the fort with the tomb of Pari Bibi at its heart, topped by a dome sheathed in brass.