Dhaka Old Town

---

Inquisitive locals

Blogger Dougo

Bec's Mum, Karen and Dad, Jim arrived yesterday evening. What better way to introduce them to Bangladesh then to take them into the hustle and bustle of Old Town?

We left our place in a school van and headed into the heart of the city. Our school and where we live is in the north of Dhaka near the airport approximately 1hour from the 'old' town. As it was only a few days prior to Eid Al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice (more on that later), the roads were packed with people, rickshaws, cars and trucks. It took us nearly an hour and a half to get to our destination - Hindu St - a long lane way barely wide enough for two rickshaws side by side selling Hindu trinkets and incense. Our goal was to get down to the river and go on a barge. Unfortunately neither our driver or anyone else knew A) where we were and B) where to go to get to these boats that the Lonely Planet recommended. And so it was that we decided to make our way down Hindu St in the hope of finding the river.

To say it was busy would be an understatement of epic proportions. Rickshaws carrying everything from passengers to kitchen sinks (literally!) constantly ringing their bells seemed to drown out all other sound. We tried to go with the flow of the traffic, but because the rickshaws had very little room in which to move, we were constantly jumping in and out of shops to get past.

Our original thought was that the elusive river must be just down the end of Hindu St. Just down the end? I should have known better. The street went on and on and on. We resolved ourselves to keep going straight, not veering off at the number of the T-junctions. Eventually we came out underneath an overpass or so we thought. It turned out to be the bridge that crossed the river. As far as we could see to the left and right were cattle, shipped in from India (where they are sacred) via truck or river barge. There were bulls of all shapes, colours and sizes. They were predominantly Brahman, but there was the occasional Hereford “from Australia” they told me. Some of them were dressed up in ceremonial garb, others spray painted pink. Prices ranged from 15,000 (USD$220) to 200,000 (USD$2900) taka.

So what’s the point of all this you ask? Well the Muslim faith has two main festivals each year based on the Quran. The first is Eid ul-Fitr which takes place after the fast for Ramadan. The other is Eid ul-Adha, otherwise known as the Festival of Sacrifice. It is a commemoration of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, under the order of Allah. During Eid ul-Adha, Muslims who can afford to do so, sacrifice domestic animals (such as cows, goats and sometimes camels) as a symbol of Abraham’s sacrifice. According to the Quran, at least half of the meat must be given to the poor so that all Muslims do not go without sacrificial food during this time. The other half is prepared for a huge family feast or kept for personal consumption for the coming week. In a country of 150,000,000, 90% of whom are practicing Muslims, millions of which are living in poverty, you can see how this is a huge time for the Muslim people of Bangladesh. Thus, the huge number of livestock for sale downtown.

We made our way towards the river and ascended the bridge stairwell to try and get the lay of the land (and work out just exactly where the hell we were). The top of the bridge was pretty much empty. Four lanes of nothing. We quickly worked out that it was a toll bridge and they only let a certain number of vehicles across at a time. Karen and Bec took it upon themselves to try and triangulate our position using the river, the bridge and Hindu St on the tiny, highly ineffective Lonely Planet map. Seriously, why do they even bother including those things!! Jim and I just stood back and watched the handful of two or three inquisitive locals, develop into a throng of 50. Jim and I couldn't stop chuckling over the two, bright Aussie blonde standing out amongst the mass of black hair.

Having finally found the river, we didn’t have any time left to actually go on it. Our driver (quite rightfully as it later turned out) wanted us to get back to the van by 4pm because of the increasing traffic in the surrounding area. We heard later that at about the same time as we were viewing the river from the bridge, two people died when their boat collided with another larger barge.

Leaving Old Town we passed scores of brightly coloured trucks loaded to the brim with more cattle. It made me wonder just how all of these beasts will be sold in the three days between now and Eid. What an adventurous way to introduce Dhaka to the in-laws!

---

Photos

Where to now?
Bec and Karen were the self appointed navigators for the trip. The Lonely Planet guide book map was highly ineffective.

Cattle trucks
Bec snapped this pic of one of the cattle trucks from an overpass. Truck after truck after truck was loaded to the brim with cattle like this.

Sleepy time
These blokes decided it was time to have a rest after unloading their cattle from their river barge.

What are you lookin at?
Cattle of all shapes and size were up for sale. I wonder if they knew what they were being bought for?

The Sacrificial Cattle Market
It just went on and on.