Bibi-Khanym Mosque

Bibi-Khanym Mosque (Persian: مسجد بی بی خانم; Uzbek: Bibi-Xonum machiti) is a famous historical Friday mosque in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, whose name comes from the wife of 14th-century ruler, Amir Timur.[1]

Contents

Features

The outer walls (see picture) are 167 metres (182.63 yards) in length and 109 metres (119.20 yards) in width. The cupola of the main chamber reaches a height of 40 metres,[2] and the entranceway is 35 metres high.[3] There is a large marble Qur'an stand in the centre of the courtyard.[4]

History

After his Indian campaign[5] in 1399 Timur decided to undertake the construction of a gigantic mosque in his new capital, Samarkand. The mosque was built using precious stones captured during his conquest of India. According to Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, 90 captured elephants were employed merely to carry precious stones, so as to erect a mosque at Samarkand — Bibi-Khanym Mosque. Construction was completed between 1399 and 1404. However, the mosque slowly fell into disuse, and crumbled to ruins over the centuries. Its demise was hastened due to the fact it pushed the construction techniques of the time to the very limit,[6] and the fact that it was built too quickly.[7] It eventually partially collapsed in 1897 when an earthquake occurred.[8]

However, in 1974 the government of the then-Uzbek SSR began to reconstruct the mosque[9] (see picture), although the current mosque (which is still not completed) is effectively a brand-new building, as no original work remains. The bazaar at the foot of the Bibi-Khanym (see picture) has changed little since 600 years ago.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bibi Khanym Mosque Reviews". IGoUGo.com. October 11, 2000. http://www.igougo.com/travelcontent/JournalEntryActivity.aspx?Mode=2&BusinessCardID=99863. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  2. ^ Muzey.uz, Соборная мечеть Биби-Ханым (Bibi-Khanym Mosque) (Russian)
  3. ^ Carillet, Joel (June 6, 2006). "In Pictures: Samarkand, Uzbekistan". Gather.com. http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976758081. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  4. ^ Burnett, Doug (September 7, 2000). "Uzbekistan 2000 - Samarkand". BootsnAll.com. http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/00-09/uzbekistan-2000-samarkand.html. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  5. ^ "Bibi-Khanym mosque". Skiouros.net. http://www.skiouros.net/voyages/2000/uz/uz2000_103.en.html. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  6. ^ "Samarkand City". Stantours.com. April 24, 2002. http://www.stantours.com/uz_rg_sk_sc.html#bibi. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  7. ^ "Highlights of CA" (PDF). Steppes Travel. March 22, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930144516/http://www.steppestravel.co.uk/download/Highlights+of+CA+-+17+days+-+Uzbek,+Kyrghyz,+Kazakh+20.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  8. ^ "Bibi Khanym Mosque". TripAdvisor.com. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298068-d317888-Reviews-Bibi_Khanym_Mosque-Samarkand.html. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 
  9. ^ "Bibi Khanym Mosque". iExplore.com. July 14, 2001. http://web.archive.org/web/20071222230338/http://community.iexplore.com/planning/journalEntryActivity.asp?JournalID=6651&EntryID=12113&n=Bibi+Khanym+Mosque+. Retrieved 2007-04-06. 

External links


Ak Mosque • Bibi-Khanym Mosque • Dzhuma Mosque • Kalyan Mosque • Khonakhan Mosque
Category – Islam in Uzbekistan – Mosques by country