Our friends did not want to leave Tashkent without visiting the Minor Mosque. Their review is below.
Views of the Minor Mosque and tourists’ impressions
The stunning view of the white-marble Minor Mosque with its two minarets, located on the banks of the Ankhor Canal, is impressive at any time of day or night. Our friends from Russia, who were in Tashkent for just one day, did not want to leave until they had seen this place.
No arguments that the Minor Mosque is only a few years old and therefore not a medieval landmark so popular with tourists helped. After getting there, they had no regrets: the riverside square and the large snow-white mosque with a sky-blue dome, designed to accommodate 2,400 worshippers, made a very strong impression on them.
They described the Minor Mosque as a true “paradise on earth.”
Interior of the Minor Mosque
To get a full sense of this “paradise on earth,” it is worth visiting the inner courtyard with its terraces, as well as the huge circular hall with a gilded mihrab — a niche oriented toward Mecca where the imam leads the prayer. The mihrab of the Minor Mosque is decorated with quotations from the Quran and hadiths — traditions about the Prophet Muhammad.
Tashkent residents like to come here in the evenings not only to draw closer to God, but also to enjoy peace and tranquility.
Who built the Minor Mosque
Whether the construction of the Minor Mosque is connected to the Russian oligarch of Uzbek origin Alisher Usmanov remains a mystery. According to an online encyclopedia, part of the funds for its construction was allocated by the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan, and another part by the state from its budget.
The mosque was opened in the autumn of 2014, on the eve of the Kurban Hayit holiday, with the participation of the then President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov.
How to get to the Minor Mosque
The Minor Mosque is located at 41 Khurshid Street, Tashkent. It can be reached via the small ring road from almost anywhere in the capital of Uzbekistan. It is also possible to drive from the city center along Sharof Rashidov Avenue and then turn left onto the small ring road.
Directions map to the Minor Mosque
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