The Diary Game || date: 02-May-2025 || Travel To See The World's 3rd Largest 201-domed Mosque, Gopalpur

Assalamu Alaikum dear, Greetings to all from my motherland Bangladesh and a warm welcome to my blog for another session on the topic of my daily lifestyle content.

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I started today by wishing everyone good health. I woke up early in the morning, brushed my teeth, then refreshed myself, did ablution, went to the mosque and prayed Fajr. Then I came home and talked to my friends for a while because today I had planned to visit a famous mosque in our Tangail city. So we packed everything and left home. Today will be a journey of at least 150-170 kilometers. At the beginning, we were passing through the middle of a city called Sagardighi where the natural scenery was breathtaking. There were big trees on both sides of the road, and we felt cold from there.

Sakhipur-Sagardighi Road

After going some distance, we needed to change the driver of our bike because we were feeling tired, there were three of us on one bike. That was convenient for us. After going some distance, we left our upazila and entered another upazila. There were trees on both sides and a highway in the middle. The soft light of the sun melted through the gaps in the leaves of the trees and fell on the road as if it were a golden carpet.

On both sides of the road, rows of palm, coconut and banyan trees stood with their heads held high as if nature itself was welcoming. There was the aroma of rice grains and the chirping of birds in the air. After about 10 kilometers, I met my friend, so I got on his bike. After going some distance, I took a picture of such an environment.

Trees lined up side by side

After a long journey, we finally reached the famous 201-domed mosque in Gopalpur. From a distance, the rows of domes of the huge mosque looked like a heavenly structure standing under the sky. As the sunlight fell, each dome sparkled as if it had been sprinkled with gold powder.

The craftsmanship of the mosque seemed to tell a story, the wall decorations, the dome design and the delicate carvings of the mehrabs all revealed the unique beauty of Muslim architecture. We stood silently for a while as if we wanted to capture the beauty and spiritual peace of this holy place in our hearts. We took pictures of a few tall minarets. We went up to the very top side at the beginning, and the full view was coming from here.

We stood there for a long time, took pictures and enjoyed the different views. So from there, we suddenly wanted to go down and observe the place beautifully. So from there, we were going down the stairs. I was a little scared while going down the stairs because it was very narrow and for few people to travel. I made a short video to show what this staircase is like.

Video of walking up stairs

The Gopalpur 201 Dome Mosque is located in Gopalpur village, Nagarpur upazila, Tangail district, Bangladesh. Although it is a modern structure, its construction began in 2013 under the initiative of renowned social worker and scholar Maulana Gazi Azmatullah (RA).

The main objective of building this mosque was to create an exceptional Islamic architecture that would not only be a place of prayer but also a center for Islamic knowledge and tourism. The construction of the mosque is still partially underway. The main feature of this mosque is its 201 domes. Numerous small domes are arranged in rows around a large central dome, which gives it a unique look.

View of the huge dome

The domes from up close

Me with the dome

There are 4 tall minarets at the four corners of the mosque. That's where we first climbed to take pictures. The height of each minar is estimated to be about 450 feet, which is impressive from afar. At the entrance of the mosque, there are elaborate doors and lattice-style windows, allowing daylight to enter and create a wonderful play of light and shadow. So we wandered around there for quite some time. Since we went on a Friday, many people gradually gathered there because everyone was going to pray Friday.

However, I was happy to see one thing there: there is a prayer area for women next door. Both men and women can pray there. However, men pray on the second floor and women pray underground. After a while, when Friday prayers started, I prayed Friday prayers in the morning. Then I went out and turned on the ultra wide angle mode and took pictures of the entire mosque.

View from the front of the mosque

I learned from the locals that this mosque is very popular and historical. This mosque with 201 domes and tall minarets is rare in Bangladesh. The huge size, fine craftsmanship, and the blend of Mughal and modern architecture have made it a visual marvel. Many people come from far and wide to see its beauty. Devotees come here to offer prayers, especially during the months of Friday and Ramadan.

Thousands of people can pray together in such a big mosque, which brings spiritual unity and peace. Anyway, I was very happy to offer prayers today because I have never seen such a big mosque before in my life. We stayed there for a while and then we headed back home. The city we were passing through was a farming area and everyone in that area cultivates pineapples. There were many pineapple trees planted on both sides of the road, which you can see in the pictures.

Pineapple garden

Then from there I said goodbye to my friend because he had come to his house. We had to travel a long way from there. So from there we prayed on the way. We took a short rest after that, and then the battle to reach our destination started again. Our throats were dry from walking on the dusty roads and wandering around all day. So without further delay, we stopped at a station and saw a man selling sugarcane juice.

The uncle smiled and said, Have a glass and see, it will cool you down. He put a few sugarcanes in the machine in front of him and started spinning it vigorously. Before our eyes, the glass filled with juice. He added a little lemon and a pinch of salt on top and that was it, fresh sugarcane juice with a very refreshing sweet taste.

Sugarcane juice

We stood there and drank the juice and in an instant, our fatigue disappeared. The sun was setting on the other side of the road, and there was a kind of comfortable coolness in the air. It seemed like this small glass of sugarcane juice washed away our fatigue from the whole day.

Such an experience does not happen again and again. On the one hand, the natural beauty, on the other hand, the sincerity of the people, and the taste of sugarcane juice on the side of the road all combined to create a memory of an evening. Then it was evening, so I prayed at the nearby mosque and then came home around 7 pm. When I got home, I freshened up and had a meal and went to bed because I was feeling very tired. In the meantime, I realized that I had curation duty left today. So after finishing all the work, I fell asleep at 11:30 pm.

Today I have blogged in my own language some video clips of my bike journey. The YouTube link is given below.