Destination # 7

Greetings for all.Today we went to Hoja Zayniddin mosque. Here some photos and vibes

The Hoja Zayniddin is a mid-16th century mosque located at the junction of two side streets 300 meters southwest of the Po-i-Kalyan square within theshahr-i-darun, or "inner city". Although its interior houses the grandest dome in Bukhara, very little of substance is known about the origin of the building—both its sponsor and its architect have been lost to the mists of time. Even so, the quality of construction, its proximity to the heart of the city, and its large footprint strongly suggest it was a product of the city's ruling elite, or even of the Khan himself.

Design and Description

Like all mosques in central Asia, the mosque is organized around an east-west axis canted to the south, toward Mecca, with the qibla wall to the west. The ideal mosque is symmetrical, but the dense urban fabric of 16th century Bukhara likely necessitated a compromise, such that the angle of the building's south and west facades (facing the street) are out of kilter with the primary axis. 

The building's prayer hall is a spacious domed chamber measuring 9.5 x 9.4 meters, with the dome rising 16 meters overhead with a diameter of 8.2 meters. The main entrance, on the east, includes a deeply recessed chamber crowned with stalactite-like muqarnas vaulting. A similar treatment is used on the qibla wall to the west, which also incorporates at its heart a smaller but a more subdued mihrab(niche) indicating the direction of Mecca. The chamber's north and south walls are pierced with a number of doors and windows, some covered by grilles (pandzhara) to attenuate light and prevent entry by birds.