Two medieval cities of the Bengal sultanate located in current day West Bengal. Enormous sites carefully protected and preserved by Archaelogy Survey of India with some pretty severe warnings. No defacing but also no praying. No photography at some, no picnics at others. Lots of don’t. Fewer do’s. No foreigners. No Indian visitors either. These cities are off the beaten track.

Adina Mosque considered the largest in the Indian subcontinent when Pandua was the capital between 1339 to 1450. Sadly no photos allowed.

This shifted to Gaur between the years of 1450 to 1565.A grand city for its time built by master craftsmen with an impressive Golden Mosque ( though no evidence of the gold remains ). The photo of the symmetry of the arches shows some of the artistry of their design.

While in the grounds of this mosque we saw two spotted owlets in a turmeric tree. Quite shy so difficult to capture on camera but nearby a splendid kingfisher.

We headed to Firoz Minar an impressive tower built by Abyssinian slaves. The tree nearby now reaching a comparable height.

Most unexpected was the last gateway with a snaking ladder in the entrance. In the chamber thousands of insectivorous bats.They reacted to our appearance with a flurry from one side of the chamber to the next.

Fishing lakes everywhere. Small neat homesteads with lots of goats and cows. All you need for the home from a wandering salesman.