The Friday mosque
Two minarets.
St. Christofor — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Murodbek Yusupov — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bobyrr — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mamatkazy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Enric — CC BY 4.0 · Jean Housen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bgag — CC0 · Jean Housen — CC BY-SA 4.0
The religious heart of Tashkent's old city: a group of mosques, madrasas and mausoleums built between the 16th and 20th centuries around the grave of Imam Abu Bakr al-Qaffal al-Shashi, the city's first imam and preacher, nicknamed «al-Qaffal», the locksmith, for his skill at making locks. The complex is also home to the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan. Its oldest buildings are the 16th-century Barak Khan Madrasa and the al-Qaffal al-Shashi Mausoleum of 1541-1542, joined later by the Tillya Sheikh Mosque of 1890-1902. The Hazrati Imam Friday Mosque was built in 2007, with two minarets and a vaulted hall 77 m long and 22 m wide. For more than three decades the complex kept the Samarkand Kufic Quran, one of the oldest surviving Quran manuscripts, which tradition attributes to the Caliph Uthman ibn Affan. It was held in the Muyi Mubarak Madrasa from 1989 until November 2025, when it moved to the new Center for Islamic Civilization next door. The complex came through the 1966 earthquake and was restored and enlarged after 2007. The square and mosques are free to enter. It is a place of worship, so dress modestly; women are advised to cover their hair inside the mosques, and prayer times are best avoided. The Center for Islamic Civilization stands alongside, so the two fit together in half a day.
Two minarets.
From 1541.
16th century.
Olmazor district, old city, Tashkent
Center for Islamic CivilizationA vast cultural complex opened in March 2026 beside the Hazrati Imam ensemble, c3 minutes walk
Chorsu BazaarTashkent's best-known bazaar and the largest in the old city, its name Persian f15 minutes walk
Kukeldash Madrasa, TashkentOne of Tashkent's oldest surviving madrasas, built around 1570 by the Shaybanid 19 minutes walkNo, the Samarkand Quran moved in November 2025 to the Center for Islamic Civilization next door, so both fit into one visit.