Tourist Attractions & Monuments Uzbekistan

Citadel in the heart of the inner city, Tash Khauli was built from 1831 to 1841. Behind high walls, the khan built this palace including an audience hall, the royal apartments and a harem. The Khorezm craftsmen were renowned for the quality of their decorations and their woodwork; the iwans of the harem, as well as those of the judgment hall and the audience hall, are the best illustration of their perfect mastery. From 1841, the "stone palace" became the main residence of the khan of Khiva.

To the west, the Koutloug Mourad Inak madrasa, built between 1804 and 1812, under the reign of the eponymous khan, by the grandfather of Allah Kouli khan. Khan Koutloug Mourad Inak wanted to be buried in his madrasah, but death surprised him while he was in Dichan kala, the outer city. Since the law forbids the entry of the dead into the inner city, Allah Kuli Khan found a solution by tearing down the city walls that separated the madrasah from the outer city. There was no longer any reason why the khan should not be buried in the vestibule of his madrasah. It was Khiva's first madrasah with two floors of cells. Another special feature is that it is built on top of another madrasa dating from 1688: the Khodjamberdibi Madrasa, which, during the new construction, was converted and renamed Khujum. The domes and the gate were removed, and a passage was drilled through the middle of it. It now serves as a terrace at the gate of the Koutloug Mourad Inak madrasa. The arches of the cells are visible at the front of the great madrasah. The large underground well located in his courtyard supplied pure water to the entire inner city. Today the children come to fetch the banknotes that the pilgrims threw there and no one drinks any more of its water. In season, a puppeteer offers his little show to tourists for whom a few benches have been set up in the courtyard.

The Allah Kouli Khan madrasa was built in 1834 opposite the Koutloug Mourad Inak madrasa, forming the traditional couple of kosh madrasas. One of the largest in the city, it housed Khiva's library. At that time, Allah Kouli Khan wanted to completely reorganize the eastern entrance of the city. He had the inner city wall demolished and a whole complex of commercial and religious buildings erected, thus moving the centre of the city to the vicinity of the Tash Khauli Palace. The new complex included a huge caravanserai, a covered market, baths as well as a madrasah and a mosque. The caravanserai was turned into a supermarket by the Soviets. A curiosity! It opens onto a 14-dome timer. A gallery with 6 domes runs along the Allah Kouli Khan Madrasa and leads to Palvan Darvosa, the east gate, which opens to the outer city and the bazaar. The Allah Kouli Khan Madrasa is only really interesting because of its majestic deep blue portal. Inside, around a rectangular courtyard measuring 30 m by 34 m, the cells are spread over two floors, as in the Koutloug Mourad Inak madrasa.

Located east of the Friday Mosque, the Abdullah Khan Madrasa was built in honour of the 17-year-old Khan, who died fighting the Turkmen, after a short reign of five months. The madrasa houses a Natural History Museum, and each of its cells is arranged around a theme: cotton, silk, fruit... The museum also presents a rich collection of stuffed animals, including birds and reptiles. Facing the madrasah, the Ak mosque, built in 1838, was built on foundations dating back to the middle of the 17th century.

In front of the palace gates, the great square was the venue for parades and military exercises as well as capital executions. In the centre of the square, a hole allowed the evacuation of blood during mass executions, such as those in 1717, when the 3,000 Russian soldiers of Prince Bekovich's expedition and the prince himself were beheaded. In the western corner, one can visit an insalubrious model prison dating from the 19th century, the zindan, a cousin of the rat hole of Bukhara where the unfortunate convicts rotted abandoned from the world of the living.

Built in 1851, during the reign of Khan Mohammed Amin, it was one of the largest madrasas in Central Asia, with a square courtyard of 38 m on each side for a building measuring a total of 72 m by 60 m. A construction in the image of the khan, Khiva's most illustrious ruler: he conquered Merv and imposed his law on the warring Tekke before dying beheaded in a battle on the Iranian border, leaving Khiva open to nomadic attacks for the next decades. To make way for the impressive building, part of the fortification walls had to be demolished. The one hundred and twenty-five cells on two levels housed two hundred and sixty students until 1924. The tympanums of the high portal and of the two storeys of cells on the façade are decorated with blue majolica motifs. The construction of the madrasa offered Soviet historians an illustration of the class struggle under the khans. Indeed, after two years of exhausting work, the workers, who, of course, received no money, revolted: most of them being peasants, they could no longer look after their fields and famine was looming. The revolt was suppressed the Khivian way: Matiakoub, the leader of the rebellion, was wrapped in a wet animal skin and buried alive under the foundations of the minaret. The recent history of the madrasah is not necessarily more cheerful, since the Soviets turned it into a prison in the 1930s and 1940s.

«Giant doors», or eastern doors built between 1806 and 1835, are the oldest in the city. A vaulted passage to 6 domes leads to the old town. Left of the gates, facing Ichan kala, was the slave market. In a retreat, in the niches on each side of the corridor, the slaves who had tried to escape were chained while waiting for a fatal fate: it was in front of the market that the convicts were beaten or killed from 1840.

This immense necropolis, more than two thousand years old, houses mainly Muslim tombs, but also Nestorian tombs as crosses were found engraved on some of the buildings. Most of the mausoleums are in ruins, some have been summarily renovated, such as those of Khalif Erdjep and Bugar Jumart Kassab, while others are waiting for the government to release a budget to resume work. The mausoleum of Nazlimkhan, built in the 14th century, is half buried underground. A must-see visit on the road to Nukus!

Armin Vambery tells how, during his visit in 1863, the surroundings of Khiva were populated by "khauli", which he describes as dwarf fortresses shaded by tall poplars and surrounded by fertile fields. Of these numerous mini-fortresses, only Chadra Khauli apparently remains, with its original architecture perfectly adapted to the unbearable heat of the summer months. A superimposition of iwan on three levels recovers all the draughts and makes it possible to monitor the surroundings as in a watchtower.

Located 2 km southwest of Uzs, the summer palace of Muhammad Rakhim khan was built at the end of the th century. It is a set of three courses subtly decorated with blue and so majoliques of iwan behind which are the apartments, as in the palaces of Ichan kala. The palace also features a summer mosque and a winter mosque. A large pool brought freshness to the whole. Although years old, the summer palace, like Nouroullah Bey's palace, is already equipped with European windows. Just next door, we visit the residence of Islam Khodja, with architecture that is also characterised by European influence.

These gates, the most impressive of the city, take their name from the village where the 1873 treaty was signed attaching the Khiva Khanate to the Russian Empire. They are located in Mustakillik street, next to the palace of Nurullah Bey. They consist of a single passage flanked by two more graceful turrets beautifully decorated with blue majolica. It is in fact a total reconstruction, made by the Soviets in the 1970s from archival documents.

Built in the 19th century, they are located in Palvan Kari street which starts from the eastern gates of Ichan kala. Although their architecture is reminiscent of the Ichan kala doors, their appearance is much more massive and free of any colourful decoration. Between Palvan Darvoza and Koi Darvoza stood a large bazaar where animals, horses, sheep, camels and slaves were sold. Even today, a bazaar is still held in Dichan kala, still very colourful, but fortunately the goods have changed.

Leaving Ichan kala through the east gate, the bazaar is on the left and two minarets stand in line with the gate. The first is the Sayyid Niyaz Shalikarbey Mosque. The complex was built between 1835 and 1845, making it one of the oldest minarets in Khiva. Its flared top, decorated with small niches carved into the structure to give relief to the decorations, resembles more the minarets of Registan in Samarkand than the other minarets of Khiva. A little further on, the Palvan Kari minaret yields 3 m to the first with a height of 21 m. More recently, it was erected in 1905 and is named after the rich merchant who undertook its construction and that of the adjacent madrasah and mosque. With a simpler architecture than the previous one, it seems more massive and its crownless imposing. Looking towards Ichan kala, one can see the impeccable alignment of the two minarets of Dichan kala with the minaret of the Friday Mosque in Ichan kala.

Built in 1726, it houses the Museum of Medicine dedicated to Avicenna and Al-Khorezmi. Above the entrance, an inscription states: "I accept death at the hands of slaves. "It was engraved after the death of Shirgazi Khan inside the madrasah. He had used Persian slaves and Russian prisoners to build this madrasa, promising them a freedom he never gave them. One day when he came to supervise the work, the overworked slaves stoned him to death with bricks.

" Double doors ", or northern doors, built at the beginning of the th century.

Excursions in Samarkand and Shahrisabz, picnics in the Fanskye Mountains. Rates to bargain with Furkat.

A traditional village of stone houses where time seems to slow down. The dirt road through the village is only travelled by lazy aksakal riding their donkeys. Going up the river towards the rocky peak overlooking Sentob, one reaches the old ghost village. Indeed, in the 1950s, the inhabitants were forced by the Soviet regime to leave their mountains and their habitat to work in the plain growing cotton. From this village, one can trek in the surrounding mountains to a high altitude lake.

The sacred spring of Nourata, according to legend, was discovered by Hazrat Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed, who made the water gush out by planting his stick in the ground. The spring must have been known long before that time and its location at the foot of the Sogdian citadel may suggest that it was already venerated in pre-Islamic times. In the 10th century, a first mosque was built near the spring. The great Namazgoh Mosque was built on its foundations in the 16th century, with twenty-five domes supported by arches resting on solid pillars. This mosque went through a difficult period during the communist era when it was used as a granary. It is now reopened for worship. The courtyard facing it has been restored, perhaps with too much zeal: the century-old trees have been replaced by a paved courtyard surrounding a marble fountain. On one of its sides are exposed several engraved tombstones, one of which dates back to the Sogdian period.

Overhanging behind the basin is the tomb of the patron saint and founder of Nourata, Sheik Abdul Hassan Nouri, a Muslim missionary who came from Baghdad to Bukhara in the 8th century. Next to the basin, a deep well marks the holy spring. It is said that Karimov, the former President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, used to carry water from this holy spring. Pilgrims, on the other hand, come to drink it and bring back full bottles. In any case, thousands of very voracious carps attest to its purity.

A place of pilgrimage more for believers than for tourists. There is indeed a legend that claims that one of the wives of Ali, the prophet's son-in-law, was from this village, which would explain the presence of the symbolic tombs of his sons. A first mosque was built in 1246 to house the two long white tombs of Imam Hassan and Imam Hussein. It has been renovated in recent years, as has the small adjoining mosque.

The two madrasas Modar-i-Khan and Abdullah Khan are located to the southwest of the Bolo-Khauz Mosque. The smaller of the two, the Modar-i-Khan Madrasa, dedicated to the mother of Abdullah khan, was built in 1566, at the beginning of the Emir's reign. It is a madrasa of classical architecture, comprising a level of cells where the students lived and a mosque and a courtyard room, or darskhana, overlooking an inner courtyard. The same craftsmen and souvenir shops can be found there today as in other madrasas in Bukhara. The Abdullah Khan Madrasa dates back to 1588. Also built by Abdullah khan, but then at the height of its glory, its appearance exudes more power than its modest neighbour. The madrasa has a traditional layout, with a large courtyard surrounded by cells, but the architects have complicated the structure by increasing the number of cells at the corners of the buildings with courtyard rooms topped by a dome. The 'Abdullah's Lantern', located in the north wing, is an example of these architectural finds. This octahedral hall is surrounded by two-storey ogival galleries. The entrance to the madrasah can be closed, but it is possible to enter the madrasah by going around the left side. Unless the restorers have taken it over, you will be able to wander freely through this veritable labyrinth and discover the star-shaped decorations on the interior domes of the mosque and darskhana.

In the friendly village of Vabkent stands, overlooking the surrounding adobe roofs, the tapering silhouette of a 39 m high minaret, typical of Karakhanid architecture. It is only an optical illusion due to its slimness that makes it appear higher than the Kalon minaret of Bukhara, to which it nevertheless yields 4 meters. Vabkent is not necessarily worth a specific detour, but if you go to Gijduvan to visit the ceramic workshop, plan to make a small stop while taking a picture and take a few steps in the surrounding streets.

This small museum is erected in the heart of the village of Afshana where Ibn Sina, better known as Avicenna, was born in 980, one of the greatest scholars of the Muslim world and still considered the father of modern medicine with his famous Canon of Medicine. Since 1980, and the celebration of the millennium of Avicenna's birth, nothing had changed in this small museum. It has now been renovated, integrated into a medical college, and equipped with an exhibition enriched with many works that make it more attractive. The vast entrance hall displays a magnificent bust of Avicenna sculpted by Klinski. In the centre of the exhibition hall was built a room centred on a cenotaph containing some of the earth of Hamadan, where Ibn Sina died in 1037. The various niches in the room evoke the illustrious men who inspired Avicenna's work: Galen, Hippocrates, Aristotle... Tools and instruments from the laboratory and pharmacy of the period are on display, including a small ceramic jar with a female nipple-shaped spout, touching the ancestor of the bottle dating from the 9th century. We also discover three facsimiles of the Canon of Medicine, a masterpiece of Avicenna's medical work, translated into Latin in the 12th century by Gérard de Crémone (a gift from the Avicenna-France association). The second part of the exhibition illustrates the various medical techniques of the time and an interesting explanation of the techniques used by Soviet scholars to reconstruct Avicenna's face.

The tomb of the city's patron saint is one of the major pilgrimage sites in Uzbekistan but also shines throughout Central Asia. Baha-Al Din Naqchband, who lived from 1318 to 1389, is the founder of the Sufi order of Naqchbandi, the most widespread Sufi order in Central Asia. The ritual of the pilgrimage is imitated from that of Mecca around the Kaaba. Pilgrims must walk around the saint's grave several times, then kiss the tugh, the sacred pole that points to his grave. Then the pilgrim lays his head on a dark stone - the Stone of Desire, brought back from Mecca - embedded in one of the sides of the mazar. Baha-Al Din Naqchband is nicknamed "Balagardon", the one who repels evil. Many miracles were attributed to him; to those who asked him to perform one, he replied: "Here is an obvious miracle: I have sinned a lot and I am still alive. "The architectural complex consists of several buildings built between the 16th and 20th centuries. The mausoleum and khanaka are the oldest and were built in the 16th century by Obaydullâh khan of the Chaybanid dynasty. In 1917, the Abdulfis Khan Mosque was built near the mausoleum, and in 1860 the Muzafar Khan Mosque was added to the complex, forming a courtyard around the saint's tomb. In the 20th century, a basin and a domed building were added. Behind the khanaka, an old cemetery shelters the vaults of Abdullah Khan II and Abdul Aziz khan as well as of noble Bukharian families.

In this necropolis is the double tomb of Abu Bakhr Saad and Abu Bakhr Ahmad, descendants of Mohammed. The complex consists of a mosque, a khanaka and a madrasah. From 1560 to 1563, Abdullah Khan had this monumental complex erected for the members of the Jubairi (or Khojagon) sect of Sufis, a branch of the Naqchbandi order. In the centuries that followed, many nobles of Bukhara had mausoleums built near the tombs of the saints, and a veritable necropolis grew up around the alleys.

On two floors, classic presentation of the history and specialities of Andijan. On the ^first floor: stuffed animals, fruits, seismic measuring devices used during the earthquake, drilling equipment... The second floor is a little more interesting, with some archaeological finds from various sites in the area: Kurgan Tepa, Erchi, Kuva... At the back of the room, a 3D model and a trompe l'oeil painting present the city of Andijan in the 14th and 15th centuries: its gigantic walls and monumental entrance.

The Babur Memorial was built in 1993, on the very spot where, according to legend, the last Timurid ruler turned to take a last look at his city before leaving for Afghanistan. On the entrance walls, a fresco illustrates the great events in Babur's life, from his accession to the throne at the age of 12 to his death in 1530, including his exile in Afghanistan and the creation of his empire in India. Babur was originally buried in Agra, India, before his grave was moved to Kabul, Afghanistan.

This gigantic complex comprising a madrasah and a mosque and capable of accommodating 10,000 worshippers, was built between 1885 and 1892 by a wealthy inhabitant of Andijan. The madrasa has two domes, a 123 m long façade and 122 cells and was largely preserved during the 1902 earthquake. It underwent renovation work between 1970 and 1975, before being transformed into a Literary Museum in 1997. Inside, one can access the roof and the two domes, which offer a bird's eye view of the nearby Jumi Mosque and its minaret.

Andijan's bazaar is reputed to be one of the largest and busiest in the region, especially on Sundays. It is only during the cotton harvest that its alleys remain deserted. The best thing to do is to come by late morning. You will then have plenty of time to get lost in the miles of stands. You will find absolutely everything you can imagine but it is especially the fabrics section that is worth the detour for those of you who wish to bring back adras and atlases at a good price. Here, as elsewhere, we negotiate dry.

Starting point for the walk in Namangan, Babur Park has replaced the former governor's gardens, created in 1884. Later named Pushkin Park, it housed a statue of Lenin, which disappeared after independence. Since then, the Uzbeks have reinvested the place to install their chaikhanas and give it the name of the last Timurid emperor, Babur. Its shady alleys cut by canals and basins also house the Independence Square, where official celebrations take place and where families, couples of lovers and friends go out at weekends.

Built at the beginning of the last century, in 1915, this highly photogenic mosque is distinguished by its immense dome topped by the crescent of Islam. With a diameter of just over 14 m, this dome is one of the largest in Central Asia. In the 1990s, it was home to the Wahhabi organization Namangan and was closed in 2001 due to the actions of the MIO. It has since reopened as a madrasah to welcome students from the Mullah Kyrgyz Madrasah.

The Vendredi Mosque in Namangan was closed after the September 11 attacks. We can, however, admire the two minarets encircling its entrance, which differ radically from Uzbek style to remind the mosques of Istanbul…

Following Uishinskaya street, take the second street on the right after the madrasah. This is the former rue des couteliers, which leads to a mausoleum dating from the 18th century where only men are allowed to enter. Note the terracotta decorations and inscriptions on the façade, typical of Ferghana art. Inside there is nothing particularly noticeable, but when you come out take a look at the adjoining mosque and madrasah, which welcomes Muslims for prayer.

Restored in 1992 and again in 2011, this madrasa was founded in 1910 by a wealthy cotton magnate and fervent Muslim from Namangan. The portal and the minarets have been completely restored and are decorated with white, yellow, blue and green ceramics. Inside, a small courtyard planted with colossal trees is surrounded by 35 cells that could accommodate a total of nearly 150 students. To the right of the entrance, a little higher up, note the work on an iwan with finely decorated woodwork that dominates the whole.

To the east of the park, around the Mullah Kirghiz Madrasa, this bazaar is held every day, in a very oriental atmosphere. Sunday is the most vibrant market day, especially in the morning. There are no particular specialties in Namangan, but the bazaar is still a good place to find knives from the neighboring village of Chust, whose steel is very famous, as well as the know-how of the craftsmen. For the rest, one will find as everywhere else the stalls gathered by brotherhoods: bread, vegetables, meats, tools..

Dedicated to the often overlooked face of the founder of the Mughal Empire, the emperor writer and poet, this museum does not, however, offer any particularly interesting pieces, apart from a few biographies in Russian devoted to the last Timurid in Uzbekistan. On the other hand, it is located in a madrasa built in the 18th century on the very site of the royal residence of Babur. It's a quiet place with the charm of yesteryear, which is good for the modern city that Andijan has become. You will be able to spend a pleasant moment in the inner courtyard, in the coolness.

The Navoi Park is a heap of rides and small fountains with brackish water that hardly manage to distil a sensation of freshness. At the end of the park, a gigantic amphitheatre, built in 1999, with a stage mounted on a basin, hosts major events, in particular the celebration of Navrouz, the spring festival, on 21 March. You can have a drink in the shade of the wings of a gigantic hawk, symbol of the kitsch of the Soviet era. The park comes alive a little more in the evening, family atmosphere good child.

Slightly set back from the mausoleum, the Khamza Museum was built in 1989, in homage to the Uzbek poet of the beginning of the century, a great champion of national socialist realism. Khamzafut stoned Chakhimardan to death for his iconoclastic ideas. Many traces still testify to its contribution to the development of the city: construction of terraced gardens, an aqueduct... The museum also exhibits all kinds of tools, instruments, furniture, clothes recovered from the inhabitants of Chakhimardan and testifying to the daily life of the Uzbeks at the beginning of the century.

This is the main site justifying your visit to Shakhimardan, which is a particularly important place for Muslims, since it is one of those where, according to legend, Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law and fourth Caliph of the Muslim world, could be buried. Before his death, Ali, conscious of being loved and respected throughout the umma, the community of believers, asked that seven graves be dug throughout the empire and that seven coffins be prepared and weighted equally, as no one should know in which coffin his body was actually lying. So it was done, and after his assassination, the seven coffins were placed on seven camels which were scattered throughout the Muslim world. Another legend claims that a single camel carried Ali's coffin, but that it multiplied by seven after a few meters, each carrying a few relics of the late Caliph. When the last camel was gone, one of Ali's sons turned to God and asked him, "How will I know which grave to go to to make sure that I am buried in my father's true grave? "And God answered him that the true tomb of Ali would be surrounded by very high mountains with snow-covered peaks, where two rivers of translucent water meet. This description corresponds to Chakhimardan (which takes its name from Ali, Chakhimardan meaning "King of the Brave Men"), but it is part of the legend that changes according to the tomb next to which one is standing. Uzbekistan claims to have hosted two other tombs, one in Khiva and another in Nurat; the others are said to be in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Afghanistan. For every Muslim, the visit to Ali's tomb, before the great pilgrimage to Mecca, is obligatory. According to the village elders, a first mausoleum was built by the fourth generation of Ali's descendants, towards the end of the 9th century. In fact, no one knows when the original building was erected. It is known, however, that it was destroyed in 1922, along with the 234 stone and fir steps leading up to it. A second mausoleum was built during the Second World War, but on a different model than the first one, as no one was familiar with the techniques necessary for an identical reconstruction. This second mausoleum was again destroyed in 1956 by the Soviets, and replaced by a monument to the dead of the Second World War. In 1991, this monument was moved, and a third mausoleum was erected on the model of the second.

Five kilometres beyond the village, at an altitude of 1,800 metres, Kul Kurban, the lake of the victims, is a destination for a walk, to be reached on foot or by cable car when the cable car is running. The lake appeared in 1766, following an earthquake. Two mountains collapsed on a village, killing its entire population and creating a vast depression where water accumulated. The lake only fills up when the snow melts and the rest of the time it looks like a mini desert at altitude, where a few derisory pedal boats are lying around.

Based in Shahrisabz, Cholmurod Eshmuradov has been a guide for 30 years. He knows his region like the back of his hand. He can be contacted to organize hikes or treks in the mountains, discover villages and make excursions. Cholmurod is fluent in German, having studied in the GDR during the Soviet period, and also speaks English. He can organize everything, even in the remote corners of the mountains, off the beaten track. A good contact to be noted for discovering a region that is not very touristy.

Those who have not been sufficiently depressed by the spectacle of Moynaq can push to Uchsay, ten kilometres north. Perched on the edge of a huge dune, this small village does not even have access to water. It is harvested in artificial wells buried in the soil and made of old rusty sheets. When it doesn't rain, it's in the puddles that the kids are sent out of water, where the cars drove and where the cattle came to drink. At the end of the village, a small base camp brings together the gas workers, without a lot of work in the region. In the basement of the Aral Sea, we are still in the drill and on the horizon of this new desert, over visible derricks around Uchsay. Many people have hoped that the Aral subsoil could be as rich as that of the Caspian Sea, and indeed, in this sense, no one really had any interest in saving this sea. ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

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.

The Japanese Garden in Tashkent was completed in 2003. The park brings a certain coolness to the hottest hours of the summer thanks to its pools, canals and small waterfalls, and has become one of the great gatherings for newlyweds who come here to have their photos taken. It has fewer plant species than when it was inaugurated, some of which have had difficulty adapting to the climate. In the centre of the garden, a small terrace decorated with Japanese handicrafts invites you to drink tea in the shade, overlooking the small lake from which the Ankhor canal flows.

This mosque is built near a source of holy water, a place of pilgrimage where the ancient Cultes cults and the cult of Islam's saints coexist.