When Russia annexed Central Asia in the 1880s Islam was initially tolerated, but with time there was increased crackdowns on religious practices. Mosques slowly started popping up throughout the region after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The second largest mosque in Central Asia is located in Dushanbe, which took 10 years to build at a cost of $100 million, with 70 percent of that financed by the emir of Qatar.After a 4-year delay due to COVID, the mosque held its opening ceremony in 2023.No doubt a beautiful mosqueThrough Google Translate, signage, and finally with help of an English-speaking mosque-goer, we realized we had arrived just when high noon prayer was beginning. So we had to wait out the half hour in the park across the street before we could enter the grounds.I normally carry my own shawl, but forgot to bring it with me. Fortunately the mosque provides female visitors with coverups, but in the back of my head I couldn’t stop thinking, “This is how you get lice”.Inner courtyard.Me in my “hopefully lice-free” robeThe chandelier weighs 5 tons, about the size of an adult elephant.Exquisite dome
The mosque guide demonstrating the echo effects inside the mosque.
Granted this is a newly built mosque, but if this is a prelude to what we’re about to see in Samarkand and Bukhara, then I am beyond excited.
FIRE'd @ 47 