Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Geographical object
The Kukeldash Madrasa in Tashkent, close to the famous Chorsu Bazaar and Chorsu metro station, is one of the city's oldest and largest buildings, built around 1570 under the Shaybanid Uzbeks. Sources credit the ruler Dervish Sultan and his vizier, the scholar and poet Kulbobo Kukeldash; Kukeldash means the khan's foster brother. It is built of yellow brick in the traditional square plan, with a monumental 20-metre portal flanked by two towers and a large inner courtyard ringed by student cells, with a lecture hall and mosque in the corners. Its history has been turbulent: in 1830 to 1831 its upper floor was demolished and the bricks used for the nearby Beklarbegi Madrasa, before it was restored; it was damaged in the 1868 earthquake and rebuilt in 1902 to 1903, again in the 1950s, and it was one of the few religious buildings to survive the devastating Tashkent earthquake of 1966. In the 18th century it became a caravanserai and later a fortress; in the 20th century it was a museum, and in the 1990s it became a madrasa again.
It still serves as a religious school, so dress modestly and keep quiet; women cover their hair. Allow thirty minutes to an hour. Combine it with Chorsu Bazaar next door, under its great blue dome, for Uzbek bread, dried fruit and nuts, and with the nearby Hazrati Imam complex.
Hours and prices change — check before you go. Source: en.wikipedia.org
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