Thakurgaon, Rangpur
A three-domed zamindar-era mosque near Bhulli, left without its domes for over a century and completed only in recent years — locally called the “jinn’s mosque”.
The Balia Mosque was begun in the late nineteenth century by a local zamindar family. The prayer hall and its walls were built of brick and lime with fine detail, but the domes were never finished, and for well over a hundred years the mosque stood roofless among the trees.
Because it was never completed, villagers told stories that it had been raised overnight by jinns — and the name “jinn’s mosque” stuck. In recent years the mosque was restored and its three domes finally added, and it is again in use for prayer. It is now one of Thakurgaon’s best-known sights.
Hire a CNG or auto-rickshaw towards Bhulli on the Panchagarh road.
See the old brickwork and the new domes, outside prayer times.
Walk a little through the surrounding fields and orchards.
Return to town for lunch.
October to February, outside prayer times
In Balia union near Bhulli, north-east of Thakurgaon town off the Panchagarh road: under an hour by CNG or auto-rickshaw; ask locally for the village road.
