The most beautiful religious buildings Qashqadaryo & Surxondaryo Areas

The mosque was built by Ulugh Begh opposite the Shamsheddin Koulial Mausoleum in 1435. Before renovation, only the interior dome remained, 22 m high; today it is 36 m high. She gave her name to the mosque: Kok Goumbaz means "blue dome". The acoustics are perfect. The walls and the inner dome are entirely covered with fine polychrome geometric patterns. Notice the glazed bricks of the outside gate, you can clearly distinguish between old and new bricks.

This madrasa was transformed into a museum devoted to Timur's history. Educative, but not particularly interesting. Avoid unless you know nothing about the conqueror.

In the middle of a cemetery, this complex of mausoleums and mosques was built between the 9th and 16th centuries. Its origin is the wise Azrat Khussan Ata, who died there. Born in the city of Turkestan (now in Kazakhstan), in the ninth century according to the imam of the mosque, in the eleventh according to Soviet scholars, he would have gone as far as Mecca and returned here, in Poudina, to teach the Koran near an old tree near a basin he would have built. It is also here that, a few centuries later, Baha Al-Din Naqchband, the founder of the Sufi order in Central Asia, whose mausoleum is a few kilometres from Bukhara, is said to have come to learn here. Around the tomb of Khussan Ata, votive cloth and a ponytail bear witness to his high degree of wisdom. The main mausoleum houses the remains of the holy man and his daughter. The other three, again according to the Imam, contain those of Khussan Ata's brother and his sons, then those of the second brother and his wife, and finally those of the first brother's daughters. On the side of the Soviet researchers, one would rather consider that these are the tombs of nobles of the region. Whichever version you subscribe to, this site seduces by its timeless character and by the different aspects of its architecture, which spans some ten centuries. Moreover, the crossing of the village of Poudina and the reception of the old turbaned imams would be enough in themselves to justify the displacement.

South of Shahrisabz, take the direction of Gouzar; in Kamachi, turn east towards the village of Langar where you must see the Juma Mosque (Friday Mosque), then climb to the mausoleum of the most famous Saint of the region, Mohamed Sadik who lived in the th century. With perseverance, you can go by bus, but it's much simpler by taxi. Ask for advice from Hotel Shahrisabz staff.

At the foot of the Zeravchan chains, the dakhma of Khodja Public Khan died in the late th century, facing a deserted khanaka. On the hill, twelve wells owe their origin to this saint who would have raised pure water by touching the land of his stick.

The Friday Mosque of Langar dates from the 16th century. A gift from Mohamed Sadik to the village, it is absolutely magnificent. Not only have its architecture and decorations been preserved for almost five centuries, but its central role in local social and cultural life has remained unchanged. Still in operation, it gathers all the inhabitants on Fridays around 1pm for the Imam's preaching. They discuss the Koran and religious teachings, of course, but they also resolve disputes between neighbours, socialize...

This small mosque dates from the end of the 16th century. It has two iwans supported by 7 posts, flanking a prayer room. The woodwork of the iwans is well damaged, but this is an opportunity to see paintings in their original state. The courtyard is pierced by a vast basin, and a minaret of 11 m, entirely rebuilt, dominates the whole. Under the basin would be buried Juma Masjit, a native of Samarkand, who preached Islam and came to Karchi to die. Next to it, two 16th-century tombs engraved with Arabic motifs add to the dilapidation of the site.

Close to the bazaar and the main square, and built on the same model as the other two madrasas in the neighborhood, the Bekmir Kozok madrasa was founded in 1906 and financed by a wealthy sheep breeder. Since 1991, it has housed a library for blind and visually impaired people, who learn to read Braille. In general, these blind people have suffered from chemical fertilizers and pesticides during the cotton harvest, which was done without protection. One can enter for a visit and a short discussion with the director.

Built at the beginning of the 20th century around an octagonal courtyard with a square basin, the small madrasah now serves as the premises of the Karchi Association for the Protection of Historic Monuments. Under the basin passes one of the secret passages built in the 18th century so that the population can take shelter in the basement in case of a nomadic raid. The passage connected the palace to the outside of the city, beyond the second line of walls. It has never been consolidated for the time being and therefore cannot be visited.

The Kok Kumbaz Mosque, built at the end of the 16th century outside the present-day city of Karchi by Abdullah Khan II, was used for the great services: Ramadan, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The 32 m high dome and the original 28 m high portal were destroyed by the Russians in 1886, and the mosque was closed by the Soviets between 1922 and 1933, during which time it was used as a warehouse. In 1968, the dome and portal were rebuilt and in 1982 Samarkand workers took over the decoration.

Built near the mausoleums in the 18th century, the mosque was named after an 8th-century saint whose body Tamerlan is said to have been brought back from Baghdad by Tamerlan. If the path leading to it is cluttered with tourist souvenirs, one can instead wander between the walls that mark the ancient foundations of the buildings that adjoined the mosque to make a large religious complex. It is in this small maze that the access to Tamerlan's crypt is located. Back in the central courtyard of the mosque, enjoy the shade of hundred-year-old trees with impressive trunks.

Visible in the main street of Shahrisabz, this mosque, high in 1914 next to the th century baths, was made to worship after independence. The baths were closed for renovation during our passage and no information was available on the fate reserved for them.

All the mausoleums gathered around that of Saoddat, or "invincible", were built between the 11th and 17th centuries. A central alley, originally 200 m long, leads to the portal of the complex sumptuously decorated with blue ceramics with geometric motifs. On the left, a mosque; on the right, in a crypt, is the tomb of Emir Hussein. There are still about 50 metres of the original driveway. A flight of stairs leads to the roof of the mausoleum on the right, which allows you to contemplate the whole from a certain height.

The complex consists of the mausoleum itself, a mosque and a khanaka. The mausoleum, which dates from the 11th century and of which some original sections of the walls still remain, houses the tomb of Al-Hakim Al-Termezi, a learned astronomer and Sufi master, who was born in the 7th or 8th century. He is credited with writing 32 books and an exceptional longevity of 120 years. The tomb was built when he died in the 9th century, the decorations were made in the following centuries.

A little out of the way, overlooking a district on the southern outskirts of Djarkurgan, this minaret, which dates from 1109-1110, is ten years older than the Kalon minaret of Bukhara, making it one of the oldest in Central Asia. But more than its age, it is its architecture that makes it special. The present minaret is 22 m long, whereas according to archaeologists it originally reached 50 m, which made it equal to the minarets of the Bibi Khanum Mosque in Samarkand. Its mud-brick structure arranged in 16 semi-columns is unique and gives it a surprising grace, despite its truncated proportions. The arrangement of the bricks creates patterns such as undulations, and from below, the perspective is accentuated by the narrowing of the semi-columns towards what was the head of the minaret.

The minaret has been enhanced with the creation of a small garden at its feet, and above all the opening of a small regional museum, which has been built right next to the minaret, and is worth a visit. Realistic works by the contemporary painter Mansurov are on display and illustrate particularly interesting scenes of Uzbek social life. The custodian of the keys is at the school next door: if he is not at the museum, don't hesitate to pick him up at the school. It will also open up the minaret which can be climbed to give you a dominant view of the region. Caution: the spiral staircase is very narrow, steep and dark. Ask the guard to lend you a flashlight.

Located just opposite the Bazar bazaar, this madrasas of the 114 th century bears the name of the gendre of Baha'i Al Din Naqchband and has pieces, that is to say the Koran counts surahs, making it one of the Largest in Central Asia. Renovation work had been initiated and stopped due to lack of resources. They may have taken over.

The island of the Prophet is unfortunately inaccessible to visitors and even to archaeologists. On this island in the middle of the Amu Darya, a mausoleum was erected in the th and th centuries, where the Prophet Zul Kifl was born, whose name is quoted in the Koran.