9 things you should know about Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. With its colorful history and rich cultural traditions, Dhaka is known the world over as the city of mosques and muslin. Its fame attracted travelers from far and near throughout the ages. Dhaka is becoming the hub of the nation’s industrial, commercial, cultural, educational and political activities.
Here are 9 things that define the city:
1. Crazy for cricket
Bangladeshis are mad about cricket. Dhaka is home to the national stadium and many of the country’s top stars; cricket is played everywhere: alleyways, parks, roads and even rooftops.
2. Dhaka is addicted to cha
These sweet, milky, hot cups of tea are a Bangladeshi style caffeine fix. Rickshaw drivers claim to drink up to 20 cups a day. If it can give them the power to fight their way through Dhaka, there must be something special about it.
3. Rickshaw art is a serious business
In a city of cycle rickshaws, the owners take their bodywork very seriously. Great pride is taken in a newly painted vehicle, and groups of drivers sit on street corners admiring the latest upgrades.
The artwork, created to order by young boys in crowded workshops on Bangsal Road in Old Dhaka, can be picked up cheaply as a great souvenir.
4. World’s worst traffic
Sure, many Asian cities could stake a claim for the world’s worst traffic. But in Dhaka, congestion gets to bad ‘rush hour’ is what they call the least busy times, when rushing is somewhat possible.
Traffic lights function as mere decorations as hundreds of thousands of rickshaws, buses, carts, bicycles, cars and motorbikes battle for space.
Watching rickshaw drivers scream and ring their bells to be heard over the deafening horns of buses and cars can make for an entertaining afternoon. But only if you can catch your breath through the clouds of smoke.
As for getting around, it’s almost certainly quicker to walk, hop or crawl.
5. Home to a 300-year old market
In predominantly Muslim Dhaka, Shankaria Bazaar, known locally as Hindu Street, is a vibrant splash of color, craziness and cacophony. The area was first settled 300 years ago by Hindu artisans, and the descendants of the original settlers continue to ply their crafts in tiny workshops tucked away in narrow alleyways.
Look out for kite makers, jewelers, tombstone engravers and artists painting pictures of Hindu gods in these caverns behind the decorated shop fronts.
6. The river that never sleeps
Dhaka’s Buringanga River is the lifeblood of the city. Runnng through Old Dhaka, it’s busy day and night, with porters, passengers and boatmen all jostling for space along the muddy banks.
It’s a major arrival point for those coming from the countryside to seek their fortunes in the big city, and the Buriganga riverside is pure Bangladesh.
7. Fantastic bakeries
After you’ve eaten your 20th chicken curry in Dhaka, the idea of biting into something sweet is pretty tempting.
Scattered across the city are bakeries bursting with sticky, sweet delights that are sold by the kilo.
Particularly busy on Fridays and loved by the locals, if you’re having trouble trying to choose, ask one of the sweet-laden housewives for a recommendation.
8. Chill out in a palace
For a glimpse of how the Bangladeshi elite used to live, head to Ahsan Manzil. Also known as the Pink Palace and once home to Dhaka’s wealthy Dhaka Nawab family, the building is full of grandiose ballrooms, snooker halls and river-view bedrooms.
It’s also good spot to sit and get away from the madness of the riverside.
9. Chaotic, mesmerizing bookstores
If you finish your book, which is likely with the lack of nightlife in Dhaka, head to the bookstores in a corner of the New Market.
From Hemingway to Dan Brown, and with plenty of titles on Bangladeshi history and culture, this labyrinth of bookstores will satisfy and enlighten even the best-read visitor.
The area is popular with students from the nearby Dhaka University and contains more than 20 shops stacked to the ceiling with books.
Source: CNN
