Eliza binte Elahi had set the goal of visiting the archaeological sites in all the 64 districts across Bangladesh and has accomplished the amazing feat in three years. The 43-year-old travel buff, who started her journey with Baldha Garden in 2016, has visited all the heritage sites of the country and christened her initiative “Quest: A heritage journey of Bangladesh.”
“I chose the name quest because I chose to travel in the quest for knowledge,” Eliza said while speaking to Bangla Tribune.
After ending her heritage journey on Aug 29, Eliza wrote on her Facebook page: “I’ve learnt a lot during this tour and made many friends. One lifetime isn’t enough to record all those experiences.”
“In my 43-years of life, this is my biggest achievement as a traveler,” she added.
She collected information on the current state of the sites and documented her experience through videos, photography and writings.
“The heritage sites in Bangladesh hold great value but most of these are neglected,” she told Bangla Tribune.
“I’m trying to collect and preserve authentic documents, photographs and videos along with spreading awareness on a local and national level,” she said.
Eliza is of the view that this can play an important role in the development of the tourism industry and research.
She said that Bangladesh has endless possibility in heritage tourism and its development will generate income as well as keep the sites preserved.
“I hope that through my initiative people will get to know about Bangladeshi heritage, the authorities will step forward and tourists will be more aware,” she said.
She added that there are many heritage sites people don’t know including the locals of that area.
Through her travels, this University of South Asia business faculty wants to inspire travelers to discover the sites.
“I wanted to show that a mother, teacher and wife can also travel as well as spread the message that Bangladesh is a safe place for travel,” she said.
She first visited Nepal in 1999 and has since then travelled to 46 countries, authored two books ‘Eliza’s Travel Diary’ and ‘Eliza’s Travel Diary-2’ and is planning to publish separate books on her travels to the 64 districts.