Tashkent

The Khazrati Imam Ensemble (Khast Imam Square) is one of the spiritual monuments of Tashkent, whose construction began in the 16th century. It is believed that the ensemble began to form around the mazar (tomb of a Muslim saint) of Tashkent’s first imam Kaffal al-Shashi (his full name is Abu Bakr ibn Ismail al-Kaffal al-Shoshiy), a great scholar, religious figure and philosopher. After the death of Kaffal al-Shashi, his grave site came to be considered holy. However only 600 years later a mausoleum was built over the Imam’s grave, which is a place of pilgrimage of Muslims.

The Tashkent Television Tower is not only the tallest structure (375 metres) in Tashkent, but also the second tallest in Central Asia. Its main functional purpose is broadcasting and radio broadcasting, but what makes it unique is that it also has an observation platform, which is open to the public, offering a spectacular panoramic view of the entire city of Tashkent. There are three high-speed lifts that take you up to the platform. There is also what is known as a gallery in the TV Tower – it includes a museum that consists of several towers from different countries around the world, each of which, like the TV Tower in Tashkent since autumn 1991, has been listed in the Federation of World Towers.

The Minor Mosque, the architectural jewel of Uzbekistan’s capital, was built in 2014 and is a relatively young religious building, but despite this, it can rightly be called one of the main centres of attraction for Muslim believers and visitors to Tashkent. The mosque is popularly known as the ‘White Mosque’, due to the dazzling whiteness of the marble slabs on its walls. Located on a rebuilt Ankhor Canal embankment, the mosque can accommodate 2,500 visitors at a time, making it one of the largest religious buildings in Uzbekistan.

The Madrasah Mui Muborak (‘holy hair’).
The building was constructed in the 16th century but was rebuilt many times. Originally it was a khanaka, a modest shelter for dervishes. Later it was used as a madrasah, a school that was also a secondary school and a Muslim theological seminary. It now houses the library of the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan, which includes over 20,000 manuscripts and lithographs. However, the most important treasures of the library are considered to be the world’s oldest surviving manuscript of the Koran (the Samarkand Kufic Koran or Koran of Uthman), made on deerskin parchment in the 7th century AD, and a hair of the Prophet Muhammad.

Kukeldash Madrasah – One of the biggest Islamic attractions of Tashkent, Kukeldash Madrasah is located in Chorsu district.
In the 10th century the Kesh Gate, one of the three city gates, was located here. Despite the lack of precise data on the beginning of construction of Madrasah Kukeldash, one can assume that during the Sheibanid dynasty the order to lay the foundation of the building was given by a vizier close to Dervish khan, nicknamed “Kukaldosh”, which means “foster brother” in Turkic. Hence the unusual name of the madrasah.