Aokora Mosque (the 'talking mosque')
আওকরা মসজিদ
A small 1766 mosque on the Belan riverbank in Khansama, named for the echo it once gave back.
Representative photo from Dinajpur district, not of this exact place. Photo: Jubair1985 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Have a photo of your own? Let us know →
See the place on video
Aokora Mosque stands at a spot called Mirzar Math on the bank of the Belan river, near Pakerhat in Khansama upazila. It was built in 1766 by Mirza Lal Beg. 'Aokora' means 'to speak': people say that anyone talking as they walked past used to hear their words echo back, so locals called it the talking mosque. Time and decay have taken the echo away, and the old building now looks weathered. It is a peaceful, little-visited corner of rural Dinajpur.
How to get there
From Dinajpur take a bus to Khansama, then an auto or van towards Pakerhat in Angarpara union and ask for Aokora Mosque.
Good to know
Go in daylight and ask at Pakerhat bazar for directions; the lanes are not signposted.
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