Photos

Satellite image showing Bangladesh and nearby countries. Bangladesh itself is bordered by India on its east, north, and west sides, and by Burma on the southeast. The snow-covered mountain chain is the Himalayas; to their north lies the Tibetan Plateau. Image courtesy of NASA.

The Ganges River Delta is the largest inter-tidal delta in the world. With its extensive mangrove mud flats, swamp vegetation, and sand dunes, it is characteristic of many tropical and subtropical coasts. As seen in this photograph, the tributaries and distributaries of the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers deposit huge amounts of silt and clay that create a shifting maze of waterways and islands in the Bay of Bengal. Image courtesy of NASA.

The Ganges River forms the largest tide-dominated delta in the world where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. This false-color satellite image vividly displays the large amount of sediment (violet), carried from as far away as the Himalayas, that precipitates when it abruptly encounters the sea. The delta is largely covered with a swamp forest known as the Sunderbans, which is home to the Royal Bengal Tiger. Image courtesy of USGS.

Aerial view of the Ganges River Delta formed by the Brahmaputra and the Ganges Rivers. Also known as the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) River Basin, the riverine confluence forms one of the largest river systems in the world. At the Bay of Bengal, the mouth forms the Ganges River Delta, the largest river delta in the world. The Ganges (Ganga) River and its surrounding watershed supports one of the most fertile and densely populated regions on the planet.

This image from NASA Terra spacecraft shows the Bangladeshi coast north of Chittagong, where ships from around the world are beached and dismantled. Image courtesy of NASA.

Street market in Dhaka. Bangladesh is a shopper’s delight, especially for those who enjoy bargaining for goods. The country has a rich craft-making tradition, including items fashioned from wood, bamboo, silver, gold, brass, conch shell, cane, silk, jute, cotton, and leather.

Boat traffic on the Buriganga. The Buriganga or "Old Ganges" is a river in Bangladesh that flows through the southwest outskirts of the capital city, Dhaka; its depth ranges between 7 and 18 m (23 to 59 ft). The Buriganga is economically important as a connection to other parts of Bangladesh, a largely riverine country. When the Mughals made Dhaka their capital in 1610, the banks of the Buriganga were already a prime location for trade. Today, the Buriganga river is afflicted by pollution.

Fabric, a dominant export. The history of textile arts in Bangladesh dates back to the 1st century A.D. Textiles and clothing items are dominant exports from Bangladesh. Millions of people work in Bangladeshi garment factories, 80% of which are women.

The Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka is the primary Hindu temple in Bangladesh. The meaning of Dhakeshwari is 'Goddess of Dhaka.' The temple was originally built in the 12th century by Ballal Sen, a king of the Sena dynasty. Since 1966, it has been officially recognized as Dhakeshwari Jatiya Mandir, and is now a state-owned National Temple. According to tradition, the city of Dhaka was named after the goddess.

Ahsan Manzil, also known as the Pink Palace, was the official residential palace and seat of the Nawab of Dhaka. The building is situated at Kumartoli along the banks of the Buriganga River in Dhaka. It was constructed between 1859 and 1872 in the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture style, mixing European and Indo-Islamic elements. Since 1985, it has been designated as a national museum.

The capital of Dhaka has a population in excess of of 20 million people in its urban area and 10 million in the city proper, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world - with over 47 thousand people per square km. This ranks it as the sixth–most densely populated and the ninth-largest city in the world. Aside from its chaotic traffic, Dhaka is city of friendly charm.

Bangladesh hosts a number of archeological sites of interest to the curious traveler. Shown is the dome of the tomb of Colombo Sahib in the Dhaka Christian Cemetery, which incorporates a number of different architectural styles.