Weekend in Old Dhaka

Vanessa and I went to Old Dhaka this weekend, which is, as its name suggests, the oldest part of the city.  It is crowded and chaotic with narrow streets that are only passable by rickshaw and bicycle, so our car and driver had to wait at the entrance to the market.  Old Dhaka is also where many of the city’s Hindus live.  We entered a small shop selling Shakha, which are white bracelets carved from conch shells.  Hindu women wear a pair of these bracelets, one on each wrist when they get married.  They symbolize the husband and wife.  The shopkeeper was the 5^th generation owner of his business.  He showed us the conch shells and how he carved the beautiful bracelets.  He was very sweet and asked us to share tea with him.  When we told him where we were headed next, he arranged a rickshaw to take us there.

Artist showing how he carves shakha from conch shells

Old Dhaka from a rickshaw

Next we went to the Armenian Church!  An Indian Hindu gave us a special tour even though the church was closed.  He showed us all over the church and its grounds, where several Armenians are buried.  Although there used to be more, there are only 9 Armenian families left in Bangladesh (that our guide new about, at least).  The church does not have regular services, but does have holiday services on Easter and Christmas.  The church was beautiful, and the grounds were like a peaceful oasis in the middle of busy Dhaka.  The groundskeeper introduced us to his wife and showed us pictures of his daughter who lives and works in Greece.  He insisted that we return soon to have dinner with him and his wife and his boss’s family.  Rumor has it, his wife makes an excellent mutton curry.

The gate to the Armenian Church

Armenian Church from inside the gate

From the second story inside the church

With our guide Shankar

Next we wanted to go to a famous mosque, but we had quite a hard time finding it or anyone who recognized its name, Sitara Mosque.  Finally while taking a break to drink some fresh coconut water straight from the coconut, we met a man who understood where we were trying to go and even escorted us to the mosque to ensure we would not get lost.  We couldn’t go in because the men were praying, but the mosque was beautiful, and now we know where to find it when we return.

Sitara Mosque

After working up quite an appetite, we went to a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet.  They didn’t have menus because the only thing they served was chicken biryani, but it was excellent.  Two large plates of chicken biryani and a large water bottle cost us 250 bdt- just over $3.

We also saw some monkeys! Children were throwing them tomatoes.

After getting ridiculously lost on a rickshaw and asking half the town for directions, we finally found our way back to the market entrance where we had left our driver and headed home.  That night we met up with Kim at the American club for a beer in celebration of St. Patrick’s day.  For the first time since I’ve been here, it rained.  A torrential downpour soaked us in the short walk from the restaurant to the gate and transformed the roads home into small rivers.  It was just a glimpse into what the rainy season might look like.

Other highlights from the last week or two since I’ve posted include going to dinner at an excellent Korean restaurant with wonderful company, starting a Facebook page with the Government Unit I work with, and meeting several new people who are doing great work in health, nutrition, education, and research.  We are already starting to think about our next field visit as we start to plan more for our project.

Keep in touch!
Cassie