Gaud

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. There 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.