About Uzbekistan
The Jami Mosque is the true decoration of Kokand's Chorsu square. Citizens cannot imagine their city without this magnificent mosque. It seemes that it was always on that site. And indeed, in historical chronicles of IX-XII centuries, there are mentions of the mosque in Kokand, which stood in the same place on the square Chorsu. But during the Mongol invasions the Jami Mosque, as well as the entire city, was destroyed.
Kokand’s most impressive mosque, built by Umar Khan in 1812, is centred on a 22m minaret and includes a colourful 100m-long aivan (portico) supported by 98 red-wood columns brought from India and decorated in the diverse colour and carving of traditional Ferghana architecture. The mosque is located south from Mukimi Park along Turkestan (ex-Lenin) Street, where the road forks beside the Ghuldasta teahouse to cross the Kokand canal bridge that once divided old and new Kokand. Khamza Street runs through this former heart of Muslim learning. The chief survivor of those days is the Juma (Jami) Mosque, the khanate's main mosque for Friday worship.
In 1805, Kokand Olimhan started to build a mosque, but construction was suspended: the superior of the mosque stood up against the construction of mosque at the expence of funds collected by force from the common people. And only in 1814, enlightened and humane ruler of the Kokand Khanate - Umarkhan (brother Olimhana) renewed the construction of Jami Mosque. He invited the talented architect of Ura-Tube to oversee the construction. He had over 200 talented builders under his supervision. Two years later, the Jami Mosque was built. This was a truly monumental structure. The fame of its beauty dispersed far beyond Kokand.
Built by Omar Khan (Umarkhan) between 1809 and 1812 as a magnified version of the rural Ferghana design, it was shut in Soviet times and reopened after restoration in 1989. The entire complex has reverted to its former Soviet guise as a museum (9am-5pm), with one room housing a collection of suzani and ceramics from the region.
Nearby is the Amin Beg Madrassah, built for one of Madali's sons in 1830, but often named after Khornol Khozi, the 1913 restorer responsible for the ornamental facade of coloured tiles. The madrassah reopened after independence, only to be closed again and reopen as a museum/shop.
There are three other madrassas of note in the town: the 18th-century Narbutabey Madrassa (Nabiev) has an attached graveyard which includes the Modari Khan Mausoleum where Omar Khan and his wife, the poet Nadira Beg, are entombed; the Dasturkahanchi, a madrassa for teenage girls first built in 1833 (originally for male students) where they now study embroidery and other sewing skills; and the 19th-century Sahib Mian Hazrat Madrassa (Muqimi), which houses a small museum to the Uzbek poet Mohammad Amin Muqimi (1850-1903).
The western part of the vast courtyard of the mosque is occupied with khanaka and big aivan, the roof of which is supported by 98 columns. Columns of aivan is a special piece of art. They are finely painted in colors with the addition of gold. A khanaka is notable for its high painted ceiling. Walls of the mosque even today have preserved the filigree ganch carving.
On the perimeter of the yard there are khujdras, classrooms, because the mosque also included madrassah. The madrassa operated until 1918, and the mosque - until 1930.
In the center of the courtyard stands minaret of 22.5 meters of height, from which the muezzin called the faithful here to pray. Stone minaret with a smooth circular baked brick crowned with a faceted dome. From the top of the minaret one can see the whole of Kokand. According to legend, criminals and disloyal wives were thrown down from this minaret. Undoubtedly, the beauty and nobility of the architecture of the Jami Mosque aligns with the architectural monuments of Bukhara and Samarkand
