-- Cultural Crossroads --

Mt. Fuji and Star Mosque in Old Dhaka

Sitara Mosque, popularly named Star Mosque, in Old Dhaka is one of the city’s tourist attractions because of its striking mosaic decoration of colored glass set in white tiles.  The mosque, dating from 18^th century, was drastically renovated in 1926 by a local business man, who wanted to have a design of a mountain, as it was the place where Mohammed prayed and received revelation from God.  The search for the image resulted in buying tiles depicting Mt. Fuji from merchants in Calcutta, which is also the place where the original model of rickshaws was introduced from Japan to the Indian subcontinent through Chinese traders.