Special excursion in Taraz.

"Wherever you see lepers, discouraged, be gentle,
If such a loser is in ignorance, share your innermost knowledge
On the day of judgment, to be closer to the Almighty,
I escaped from arrogant, self-confident proud”

Hikmets of Khoja Ahmed Yassawi.

Mosques of Taraz.

The remains of an ancient Islamic mosque were discovered in 2005 during archaeological excavations. During archaeological work, the remains of a Nestorian-Christian church (VIII - IX centuries) were discovered, later it was proved on the basis of written sources that it was rebuilt into a mosque.
As a result of research conducted among the ruins of an ancient mosque (IX - X centuries), pylons were found. A sufa is arranged along the eastern sufa, and a mihrab was found in the eastern part of the structure.
The mosque and the adjacent caravanserai in the center of Taraz are rebuilt monuments, the appearance of which changed during the period of the penetration of Islam. The “Early Islamic Mosque” and the caravanserai adjacent to it ”are included in the list“ Sacred Map of Zhambyl Region ”as a microsocral object.
Excavations have established that the mosque in plan is a square structure along the outer contour, measuring 20 x 20 meters and an internal hall measuring 14.6 and 14.15 meters. Inside the mosque there are 4 rows of preserved stone bases with columns of 4 in each row.
The transverse step between the axles is 2.75 meters, in the longitudinal direction - 3.5 meters. Between the stone foundations located opposite the entrance, the column spacing is 3.8 meters. Stone foundations of various shapes and sizes, but they are almost the same in height - 0.4 - 0.45 meters.
The walls of the mosque were built from butterflies and adobe bricks using the combined masonry technique. The thickness of the preserved walls is different: the northern (facade) - 3.1 meters, the east - 2.5 meters, the west - 1.8 meters and the south wall - 2 meters.
Raw brick of two types: rectangular (45 x 22.5 x 9 cm) and square (26 x 26 x 10 cm). The inner vertical surfaces of the walls were lined with rectangular raw bricks. This design was identified in the northern, southern and eastern walls.
As for the western wall, it was subject to major overhaul. In the western wall at the base, the niche of the mihrabah is cleared. The entrance is not located in the center, but is shifted north - west. The width of the entrance is 1.77 meters.
The entrance is highlighted by two protruding pylons, it walked from a side 2 meters wide paved with stone slabs. In the entrance aperture on both sides revealed traces of the structure in the form of recesses for laying door parts.
Today, the mosque of the early Islamic era is the first mosque in Kazakhstan. It is still preserved, located along the Great Silk Road. According to the evidence of Bukhara historians, perhaps this mosque is one of the mosques in which the great Khagans, khans, and rulers of Taraz prayed.

Authority:
poster at the excavation of a mosque.

Photos
Alexander Petrov.