Bukhara, Uzbekistan
Mosque in Bukhara, Uzbekistan
The Maghoki Attori Mosque, in Bukhara's historic centre about a hundred metres east of Lyab-i Hauz, is one of the oldest surviving mosques in Central Asia. It is thought to date from the 9th to 10th century, built over the remains of a pre-Islamic temple on a site that had been a market for spices and perfumes, hence its name: maghoki means in the pit, and attori refers to the perfume sellers. It was built in a hollow, and the city has risen around it over the centuries so that the mosque now sits about six metres below street level, its domes barely reaching the pavement. It lay buried in sand until the archaeologist Vasily Shishkin uncovered it in the 1930s. Its finest feature is the 12th-century south façade, richly decorated in carved brick and glazed tile, among the best brickwork in the region; the rest was rebuilt in the 16th century. Today it serves as a carpet museum showing carpets from Bukhara and across Central Asia, and it is part of the Historic Centre of Bukhara World Heritage Site.
Walk down the steps to the mosque's level to sense how deep the old ground lies, and study the south façade up close. Allow half an hour for the mosque and carpet museum. It is right in the centre between Lyab-i Hauz and the trading domes, easy to combine with both. Photography inside the museum may need permission.
Hours and prices change — check before you go. Source: en.wikipedia.org
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MosqueBukhara, Uzbekistan
