Bangladesh: Panam Nagar aka Old Panam

Panam Nagar was the ancient capital city of the Bengal Sultanate in the 13th century and was also prominent during the Mughal period in the 17th century. the 19th century, under British colonial rule, Panam Nagar was revitalized by wealthy Hindu merchants as a trading center, particularly for muslin (ultra-fine cotton) and cotton fabrics. The city evolved into a long grand street lined up with huge mansions, all elaborately designed and decorated. It thrives in the late 19th-early 20th century. In 1947 India was partitioned into India and Pakistan and this led into a massive exodus of Indian wealthy merchants. Riots of 1964 and Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 further pushed all the remaining Hindu residents out, leaving the town completely abandoned. All the mansion were then declared “Enemy Property” and seized by the state – nobody ever lived in them again – with no residents or economic activity to sustain the city, there was little incentive for maintenance. The absence of caretakers allowed the once-opulent buildings to crumble, earning the city its “Ghost City” nickname. In 2009, the government declared the whole town an archeological site and people now come to visit an take selfies in front of the crumbling buildings.