The Star Mosque

The Star Mosque is a mosque in Dhaka's Armanitola neighborhood. As one of the most beautiful historical sites in Bangladesh, the mosque is ornately designed and adorned with blue star decorations. Mirza Golam Pir constructed it in the early half of the nineteenth century.

This mosque was initially a basic rectangular mosque measuring 33' x 11' with three openings on the east façade (main façade), one on the north wall, and another on the south wall, built in the Mughal style by Mirza Ghulam in the late 18th century. The mosque was surmounted by three domes, the largest of which was in the center. The corners were accentuated by towers, and the façades featured plastered panel embellishment.

Ali Jan Bepari financed its repair in the early twentieth century, which included the addition of a front verandah. 'Chini Tikri,' a popular shattered china decoration, was used to remake the surface. The magnificent blue star mosaic, which earned the mosque its name, is one of the few specimens of distinctive chinitikri mosaic discovered in the mosque. The Department of Architecture expanded the prayer hall in 1987, adding two more domes. It was decorated with imported china clay tiles and used both types of chinitikri application, including solid color, cur clay tiles that were placed in white plaster to produce patterns.

The domes and the exterior are covered in a variety of colored star-shaped china clay tiles. A crescent motif can also be found on the upper portion of the eastern façade. The interior of the work was given a new texture by the use of various glazed tiles. Mosaic floral patterns adorn the three mihrabs and doorways. The plant and vase motif is repeated as a decorative element on the pendentive and the interior of the verandah wall.

Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh