Djami Mosque
Straight before the entrance into Ark, you can see the ayvan of palace mosque – Djami, it was built in 18 century like type of large quarterly mosque: four-pillared winter garden, surrounded by three-side ayvan. Design of interieur is typical for 19 century – beginning of 20 century. Last repairment was made in 1910-1920 with the participation of famous Uzbek master Usto-Shirin Muradov, making out fretwork on ganch.
The Kalyan Mosque
The Kalyan Mosque is one of the outstanding monuments of Bukhara, dating back to the fifteenth century. According to data from archaeological excavations, the original Karakhanid Djuma Mosque was destroyed by fire and dismantled, apparently at the time of the Mongolian invasion. Some time later, it was rebuilt, but this reconstructed mosque did not remain long. A new mosque was built in the fifteenth century, at the time of the Sheybanids, according to written sources of the time.
Construction of the mosque was completed in 1514 under the direction of Ubaidulla-khan. New elements were a main facade with peshtok in the centre of it, gul-dasta (towers) and arches on the walls. The decor of the mosque is constrained, composed primarily of glazed tiles and bricks that form knots, and is concentrated mainly on the main facade and the mihrab. Interestingly, however, beyond this facade archaeological research has revealed an earlier decor, composed of six sided tiles and a mosaic border. The earlier decor is marked with the name of the master who made it, Bayazid Purani, and dates back to the fifteenth century.
The Kalyan Minaret
From the beginnings of Islam, there have been three types of mosques: Djuma mosques, which are intended for the large crowds that come to Friday services, Namazga country mosques (musalla idgoh), which are used by the male population of both the city and the surrounding countryside to celebrate the two Muslim holidays Qurban and Ramazan, and Quzar mosques, which are designed to be used as daily mosques in residential neighbourhoods.
The Kalyan Minaret was built twice. The fact is it collapsed just before it was completed the first time, probably because of the builders did not take into account the soft ground underneath, due to the many cultural layers beneath the city. A new, more durable foundation was laid for the minaret and, by 1127, construction of this second minaret was completed. According to someone writing at the time, «there was nothing like this minaret, for it was built very beautifully». Indeed, the forty-eight m tall Kalyan Minaret is a flawless example of both civil engineering and superior architectural creation.
Magoki-Attori Mosque
The Magoki-Attori Mosque in the city's centre is an example of an urban mosque in a residential quarter. The facade of the mosque is asymmetrical. To the right it has a portal with a recessed vault, fringed with rectangular strips; the architectural decor is composed of covered bricks which form geometric shapes and tiles of carved terra-cotta bearing vegetation patterns. Carved terracotta is also used in decorating the pylons and the vaults of the arches, combined with vegetation patterns with inscriptions covered with blue glaze. All in all, the Magoki-Attori Mosque is an excellent example of Central Asian architecture during the Kara-khanid epoch.
