KHAZRET KHIZR MOSQUE OR TRAVELLERS' MOSQUE
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The unusual, asymmetrical appearance of this mosque, perched on Afrosyab hill, immediately catches the eye. The colonnaded iwan and domed entrance date back to 1854. In 1919, architect Abdukadir Bini Baki added a portal and minaret. This mosque, dedicated to Elijah, the patron saint of travelers and underground waters, was built on the site of an earlier mosque, itself built on the site of one of the city's oldest holy places, in pre-Islamic times. Indeed, it was near this spot that the running water supply canal for the ancient city of Afrosyab ran (visible from a fifteen-minute walk along the road between the cemeteries), and Zoroastrian priests were responsible for irrigation and everything to do with water, one of the sacred elements of the ancient religion. From the iwan, the view of the Shah-i-Zinda is breathtaking.
When you reach the mosque via the viaduct, built over the ring road to link it to the bazaar, you can also visit the tomb of Islam Karimov. The former Uzbek president was buried in his hometown, just a stone's throw from the Travellers' Mosque, and lies in a small pavilion preceded by numerous basil plants, supposed to accompany the souls of the dead to the afterlife. It is a place of meditation for many Uzbeks nostalgic for a bygone era, while others consider that the country is doing just fine without its former dictator..
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