One of the best examples of Bengal architecture is the five-domed Kutub Shah Mosque of Ashtagram. The mosque is still standing on the bank of a large pond in an open courtyard. Qutub Mosque or Qutub Shah Mosque is an archaeological monument and an ancient mosque of Bangladesh located in Ashtagram Upazila of Kishoreganj District. The mosque is believed to have been built during the Sultanate period. 

As no inscriptions were found on the Qutb Mosque when it was discovered, the exact date of its construction is not known. However, considering the architectural style and other aspects, archaeologists believe that it was built in the 16th century during the Sultanate period. There is a grave next to the mosque which is said to be that of Qutb Shah. The mosque is called Qutb Masjid or Qutb Shah Masjid after him. 

Usually such mosques have three domes. Whereas the central dome has a comparable rudra-shaped dome on either side. 

But a different arrangement has been found in the architecture of this mosque. Four Rudra domes are placed at the four corners of a large central dome. As a result, the aforementioned arrangement of the dome divides the interior of the mosque into three unequal parts. Its central portion measures 16 feet by 16 feet and has a margin area of 2 feet on either side. And the measurement of two lateral parts is 8 feet by 16 feet. 

The central dome of the mosque is divided into two parts and a small dome is placed on each part. The domes are formed by corbeled pendentives. The natural curves found in the cornices of mosques of the Sultanate period and the cornices of the Dochala houses of Bengal, were more extreme in this mosque. 

The mosque is 45 feet long on the north-west side and 25 feet wide on the east-west side. Inside is about 36 feet long, and 16 feet wide. That is, the walls around it are about 5 feet thick. There are four octagonal towers at the four corners of the mosque. They are ornamented with circular bulging lines. It has three angular arched entrances on the east wall and two each on the north and long walls. 

Above the central entrance in the east wall is an unadorned hollow, 26 and a half feet long and more than a foot wide, which probably contained an inscribed plaque, which no longer exists today. The locals, including the imam of the mosque, could not even tell what was there and since when. 

The spandrels of each arch have circular floral terracotta ornaments, a favorite motif of artisans in the region. The interior of the mosque has three arches on the western wall. They are beautifully decorated with spiral patterned terracotta decorations. A crescent shaped terracotta design used here is a notable feature of this mosque. This type of design is probably the first in any mosque in Bengal. 

How to go:

The best is to go by train. Every day at 8.10 am Egarsindur Prabhati (closed on Wednesdays) departs for Kishoreganj. Get on it and get down to Kuliachar. Rent is 110 Tk. 

Apart from Sayedabad, Tisha and Gulistan, Fulbaria can also be reached by BRTC bus to Kuliachar. Rent is 200 Tk. Those who want to go to Bhairav will go to Kuliarchar by CNG from Bhairav. The rent will be Rs 40 per person. 

Get down from Kuliachar and take a rickshaw to Launchghat. From here every morning at 6 am, 8 am, 9 am, 11 am and till 3 am the launch leaves Ashtagram. Rent is 100 rupees. It will take 3 and a half hours. 

Then you can go to the historic Qutub Shahi Mosque by renting an auto for Tk 10 from Ashtagram Police Station or Dak Bungalow. 

You can come through Bajitpur when you come. You will get AC bus of BRTC all day. Rent is 180 Tk.