Kalan Mosque () is an architectural monument located in

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

, Uzbekistan. It was considered one of the largest

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s built on the place of Jame' Mosque. Its current appearance was built in

1514 Year 1514 ( MDXIV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 10 – A great fire breaks out, in the Rialto of Venice. * February 12 – War of the League of Cambrai: In ...

during the reign of Shaybani

Ubaidullah Khan Ubaidullah Khan ( Chagatai/; 1487–1539), also Ubaid Khan, was the 4th Shaybanid Khan of Bukhara, who ruled between 1534 and 1539. He was the son of Mahmud and nephew of Muhammad Shaybani, founder of the Shaybanid dynasty. Biography After ...

of Bukhara. Currently, the mosque is included in the national list of estate real objects of material and cultural heritage of Uzbekistan.

History

The main part of the Kalan Mosque was built in the 12th century during the reign of Arslan Khan, one of the

Karakhanid The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; zh, t=喀喇汗國, p=Kālā Hánguó), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Karluk Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia from the 9th to the early 13th century. Th ...

rulers. The construction of the mosque was completed in 1514 during the reign of Shaibani

. During the reign of Ubaidullah Khan, major repairs were carried out in the eastern main facade of the mosque. In 1542, in front of the main gate of the mosque, a marble stone was placed with the text of the decree of Bukhara Khan Abdulaziz Khan to exempt the residents of

from taxes. This work was done by the calligrapher Mirshaikh al-Pourani. This mosque is located in the

Po-i-Kalyan Po-i-Kalan, or Poi Kalan (; ; , ), is an Islamic religious complex located in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. The complex consists of three parts, the Kalan Mosque (''Masjid-i Kalan''), the Kalan Minaret (Minâra-i Kalân) to which the name refers, and the ...

complex. The complex includes

Kalyan Minaret The Kalyan Minaret (Uzbek: Minorai Kalon, Persian/Tajik: Minâra-i Kalân, Kalon Minor, Kalon Minaret) is a minaret of the Po-i-Kalyan mosque complex in Bukhara, Uzbekistan and one of the most prominent landmarks in the city. The minaret, desig ...

, Kalan Mosque, Miri Arab and Amir Olim Khan Madrasah."Poi Kalon." ''Archnet'', archnet.org/sites/2114. Kalan Mosque has a front

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

decorated with wall arches. Some of the mosque's decorations have been preserved and restored. It was found that there is a decoration made of six-sided plates associated with the name of the master Bayazid Puroni and borders dating back to the 15th century under the cover of the front part of the mosque. At the beginning of the 20th century, on the initiative of Usta Shirin Murodov, an octagonal dome was built according to the old appearance of the mosque. In 1935, the Kalan Mosque was used as a granary and Friday prayers were held at the Miri Arab Madrasah. In 1997, on the occasion of the 2500th anniversary of the city of Bukhara, Kalan Mosque was renovated according to the decree of the first president of the Republic of Uzbekistan,

Islam Karimov Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov (30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was an Uzbek politician who served as the first president of Uzbekistan, from the country's independence in 1991 until his death in 2016. He was the last First Secretary of the ...

. Currently, the mosque is operating.

Architecture

The mosque has a rectangular layout (127x78 m), a large courtyard is surrounded by a covered porch with domes. 288 domes supported by 208 columns. There are decorated

iwan An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

s in the four sides of the yard. The outer huge iwan in the east stands out for its majesty and magnificent decoration. There are 7 outer gates of the Kalan Mosque, with wide verandas in front of and inside the main eastern gate.

References

Works cited

* * * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Бухоро шарқ дурдонаси, 1997 , author=Azizkhojaev A, title=Buxoro Sharq Durdonasi, date=1997 , publisher=The East , location=Toshkent Mosques in Bukhara Religious buildings and structures completed in 1514 Mosques completed in the 1510s 1514 establishments in Asia