Practise day 2/ 24.05.2022

Masjidi Kalyan/Kalyan Mosque

The Kalyan mosque stands face-to-face with the Mir-i Arab Madrasa, forming the Po-i-Kalyan ensemble with the Kalyan minaret between them. It serves as the city's Friday (congregational) mosque and is the largest in central Asia apart from the Bibi Khanum mosque in Samarkand and the Friday Mosque of Herat, Afghanistan. Completed by the 1530s, it is the earliest of the major Shaibanid monuments of Bukhara and a symbol of the city's rising status in the 16th century.

Friday mosques have existed in Bukhara from the very beginning of the region's turn to Islam. In the year 709, scarcely a century after Muhammad's revelations, the city fell to the armies of Qutayba ibn Muslim (669-715/16), the Umayyad governor of Khorasan. The historian al-Narshakhi, writing in the 10th century, noted that Qutayba built a grand mosque inside the city's citadel in 712/13 on the site of a former temple. To attract the newly-converted Qutayba resorted to paying two dirhams to each attendee and allowed the prayers to be held in the native Sogdian language rather than Arabic.

Kalyan Mosque (12th century site, last rebuilt early 16th century)

Al-Narshakhi provides excellent records of subsequent events. By the year 770 attendance had grown so much that the contemporary governor, Khalid Barmaki, built a new mosque between the citadel and the city. The old mosque gradually deteriorated and was eventually turned into the city's tax bureau. The new mosque (or another replacement built after 793/94) was later enlarged by a third by Ismail Samani in the 10th century. Early in the reign of one of his successors, Nasr II (r. 914-943) the mosque collapsed on a Friday, killing a great number of people. Al-Narshakhi wrote that "In the entire city many people perished, so afterwards the city of Bukhara seemed empty" (Frye translation, p. 67). The mosque was quickly reconstructed over the course of the year, only to collapse again—this time without casualties. A replacement built five years later proved more durable, surviving until the year 1068 when it was destroyed by fire during an internecine battle for control of the city.

Al-Narshahki's text was edited and appended by subsequent authors through the 11th-13th centuries, providing further details. Following the mosque's destruction in 1068 it was quickly rebuilt. Several further iterations were built at various times over the next century, each progressively farther from the citadel, finally reaching the present site in 1121-22. More than likely the present mosque follows the same footprint as the 12th century structure which was constructed by Arslan Khan II (r. 1102-29), a Kara-Khanid ruler. That mosque survived only a few years until the minaret collapsed, destroying two-thirds of the mosque. A subsequent reconstruction stood until 1220 when the city was taken by Genghis Khan's armies. The Khan himself visited the site and was so awe-struck by its size that he incorrectly believed it was the ruling family's palace. He also marveled at the minaret that stood (and still stands) outside. While he ordered the minaret spared, his troops set fire to the mosque and left it a ruined hulk. For several subsequent centuries the ruins stood in the open air, a bitter reminder of the near death-blow the Khan had brought to the ancient city.

(#entrance)

The ruins were finally cleared in the Timurud era, but it is not known how much of the mosque had been rebuilt before the Shaibanid dynasty took control of the city in the early 16th century. The energetic ruler Ubaydullah-khan, who was later to serve as the Shaibanid Khan (ruling in that capacity from 1534-39), spent his early years as governor of Bukhara; under his rule the facade of the mosque was completed in 1514 or 1515. Further ornament was added through the 1530s at the same time that the adjacent Mir-i Arab madrasa was established. The original minaret was retained, providing a crucial link to the city's pre-Mongol past.

Design

As noted above, the current mosque likely follows the 12th century Kara-Khanid footprint, measuring 130 x 80 meters. Unfortunately we know little about the layout of the Kara-Khanid era mosque and its predecessors; the present floor plan was likely derived from Timurud-era precedent such as the the Bibi Khanum mosque of Samarkand, built in 1399. Both buildings feature a four-iwan plan, a large interior courtyard, a high dome over the mihrab, and deep hypostyle halls vaulted in hundreds of small domes—288 in all at the Kalyan Mosque.

The east-facade entrance features a monument iwan with a half dome; the exterior surface is covered with elaborate and costly mosaic faience tiles. On the opposite end of the building is a mihrab—a niche facing Mecca—surrounded with tilework signed by its creater, Bayazid Purani. The domed chamber in front of the mihrab is complemented on the exterior by a blue-tiled dome set upon a high drum wrapped in kufic calligraphy. A ring of miniature muqarnas faulting marks the zone of transition between the drum and dome.

Unlike the Mir-i Arab madrasa on the opposite side of the square, the mosque is an inward-facing building with no exterior windows. Even so, the inner courtyard is anything but claustrophobic. The arcaded walls are low enough that neighboring buildings are readily visible. As it is set on-axis with the Mir-i Arab madrasa, the domes of the madrasa rise over the east arcade, creating a sense of harmonious depth that draws the eye outward and upward. The graceful form of the closer--and far taller--Kalyan minaret accentuates this effect. By contrast, the interior of the courtyard is completely barren apart from a small octagonal kiosk on the west end and a solitary tree facing it to the east. At present, the mosque remains in active use. Its continuous presence—in one incarnation or the other—underscores Bukhara's status as one of the premiere Islamic cities of central Asia.

Mir-i arab madrasah

Mir-i Arab Madrasa (1535-36)

The Mir-i Arab Madrasa is one of three buildings comprising the Po-i-Kalyan ensemble in the heart of Bukhara, along with the 12th century Kalyan minaret and the 16th century Kalyan mosque. It was constructed by the Shaibanid ruler Ubaydullah-khan (r. 1534-39) who was the first of the Shaibanids to make Bukhara his primary capital. Its name, Mir-i Arab, literally means "Prince of the Arabs" and refers to Sheikh Abdullah Yamani of Yemen who rose to fame as head of Bukhara's Muslim community during the reign of Muhammad Shaybani, the founder of the short-lived Shaibanid dynasty. Sheikh Yamani served as the pir (spiritual adviser) of several Khans and was ultimately laid to rest within the madrasa that now bears his name.

Madrasas were in common use in Transoxiana by the 16th century and served as Islamic “colleges”. Most were rectangular with a monumental entrance gate (an iwan), a large central courtyard, and four inward-facing iwans—a set of design principles originating in Iran. The architects of the Mir-i-Arab would likely have been familiar with numerous contemporary examples in Central Asia such as the Ulugh Beg madrasa built in early 15th century Samarkand under the Timurids, as well as other examples which no longer survive. In keeping with Iranian and Central Asian precedent, the Mir-i-Arab is laid out along similar lines and measures 73 x 55 meters on the exterior with an inner courtyards spanning 37 x 33 meters. The two-story facade is almost completely covered in glazed mosaic faience tiles, a time-consuming and expensive decorative treatment that was first popularized under Timur’s rule. However, unlike the Ulugh Beg madrasa which features corner minarets, the corners of the Mir-i-Arab are squat, heavy, and battered, giving the monument a somewhat fortress-like mien.

(#debate time)

The interior of the madrasa is honeycombed with dozens of small cells, called hujra, which were--and still are--used as student dormitories. Other rooms include lecture halls and a large domed room in the northwest corner housing the cenotaph of Sheikh Yamani and the graves of various devotees or family members. A mosque, also domed, occupies the same position on the south side. From the exterior, both domes are prominently visible as both are raised on high drums and decorated with dazzling turquoise tiles and muqarnas-style vaulting.

From an urban planning perspective the madrasa completes the Po-i-Kalan square which is bounded on the opposite side by the Kalyan mosque, itself among the largest in central Asia. The older Kalyan minaret stands between the two buildings and is the only surviving remnant of an 11th and 12th century Friday mosque destroyed in the 13th century by Genghis Khan. The construction of two monumental buildings facing one another was a common practice in central Asian cities and was known as kosh; this was practiced elsewhere in Bukhara as well such as the pairing of the Ulugh Beg madrasa and the Abd al-Aziz Khan madrasa facing it to the south.

Bukhara occupied a privileged trading position along the silk road, but the madrasa’s construction was not financed by taxes on this trade. Instead, it was funded by the sale of 3,000 slaves captured in Ubaydullah's wars in Khorasan. Though none of these excursions resulted in long-term territorial gains, the Khan readily sold off the captured Shia "infidels" who followed a sect of Islam antithetical to the Shaybanid's Sunni faith. Thus Chuvin & DeGeorge note that "...it was heresy itself that financed the cosntruction of a school whose mission was to foster orthodoxy" (Chuvin & DeGeorge, p. 127).

In the Soviet era the Mir-i-Arab was the only madrasa allowed to operate throughout the entire realm. At the present time it remains

(#conversation with tourist by the Mir-i arab madrasah)

Emir-Alim-Khan Madrasah in Bukhara

While traveling around Uzbekistan you can see big variety of beautiful buildings. One of them is Emir-Alim-Khan Madrasah. This madrasah is located in the eastern part of ancient Bukhara and was constructed in XVI on the order of Emir-Alim-Khan.

Decoration is also striking for its grandeur: octagonal prism core emphasized on the bottom panel of marble, on which flaunts a large ornament, lined with glazed tiles on the background of brick deified; huge three-meter inscriptions surround the drum, harnesses lined with blue tiles of the dome.

Today Emir-Alim-Khan Madrasah is newly renovated historic building. For several years in the 50s, 60s, and then after independence in 90s mausoleum subjected the restoration work. It was supplemented with onyx panels, gilding, and painting. Ceiling, as in chrome luxury chandeliers were made by historical records.

Special architectural solution is used in the interior of the Madrasah. Inside the dome rests on arched Tromp special design: from the top of the arch to the corner of the building transferred semi arch, the space between the arches used for small windows facing to the upper gallery.

The walls inside are patterned brickwork of the same nature as the facade. Brick ring built in the chain linking the Madrassah frieze, recalling the famous series "Sasanian gems" - drilled beads, cut stucco plaster pre-Arab palaces of Central Asia and Iran. Most diversely decorated tier Tromp: arches placed between columns, which reproduce the shape, probably wooden prototypes; semi arches decorated corbels alabaster relief.

Scope of the dome has no ornamental details. Architectural forms and decoration of the Madrasah generally perceived as a single plastic image.

On the walls of the courtyard there is no jewelry. The biggest room in the madrasah is the dome of the mosque, which occupies the entire south-west facing madrasah. The interior of the mosque is made in typical creativity of Bukhara craftsmen type. On the southern part of the inner walls is decorated with majolica tiles with patterns and carved ornament Ganchev, creating a beautiful picture.

The Kalyan Minaret

Minaret Kalyan is a minaret of the Po-i-Kalyan mosque complex in Bukhara, Uzbekistan and one of the most prominent landmarks in the city.The minaret, designed by Bako, was built on an earlier existing structure called Kalyan by the Qarakhanid ruler Mohammad Arslan Khan in 1127 to summon Muslims to prayer five times a day. An earlier tower was collapsed before starting this structure which was called Kalyan, meaning welfare, indicating a Buddhist or zoroasterian past. It is made in the form of a circular-pillar baked brick tower, narrowing upwards. It is 45.6 metres (149.61 ft) high (48 metres including the point), of 9 metres (29.53 ft) diameter at the bottom and 6 metres (19.69 ft) overhead.

There is a brick spiral staircase that twists up inside around the pillar to the rotunda. The tower base has narrow ornamental strings belted across it made of bricks which are placed in both straight or diagonal fashion. The frieze is covered with a blue glaze with inscriptions.

In times of war, warriors used the minaret as a watchtower to lookout for enemies

About a hundred years after its construction, the tower so impressed Genghis Khan that he ordered it to be spared when all around was destroyed by his men.It is also known as the Tower of Death, because until as recently as the early twentieth century criminals were executed by being thrown from the top. Fitzroy Maclean, who made a surreptitious visit to the city in 1938, says in his memoir Eastern Approaches, "For centuries before 1870, and again in the troubled years between 1917 and 1920, men were cast down to their death from the delicately ornamented gallery which crowns it."

HistoryEdit

According to some historical sources, before the construction of the Kalyan Minaret in its place was another minaret, a smaller one, which later fell, and in its place it was decided to build the current one.The minaret was built in 1127 (XII century), when Bukhara was part of the Karakhanid state. The initiator of the construction was the ruler from the Karakhanid dynasty - Arslan Khan Muhammad, who was known for his urban development. His name as the initiator of the construction is carved on one of the belts of the minaret. The architect of the minaret was the master of Bako, who was later buried 45 meters from the minaret itself. In the will of the architect it was said that the minaret, if it falls, fell on his head, and bequeathed him to bury it in the place indicated by him. According to legend, the master builder, who laid the foundation of the minaret from alabaster and camel milk, disappeared, but returned only two years later, when the foundation became durable, and proceeded to the brickwork.

At one time, the minaret performed several functions. It was simultaneously an observation tower, also had a religious function, in particular, it was used for adhan (calling Muslims for prayer) to the Kalyan Mosque, which is located next to the minaret. It was also used to call the population in the nearest area to read decrees of rulers and other occasions.

In 1924, a small part of the wall and the minaret's muqarnases were restored. In 1960, by the founding by Ochil Bobomurodov, the underground part of the minaret was repaired and reinforced, where the foundation and the foundation of the minaret are located. In 1997, to the 2500th anniversary of Bukhara, the minaret was thoroughly reconstructed and restored by the best masters. In subsequent years, the minaret also carried out small restoration works.