Ancient monuments of Zhetysu of province.

"... finally, he built a mosque, which together with his 40-room palace is truly a landmark of Jarkent.  True, evil tongues say that, having built the mosque, Yuldashev collected about 10,000 rubles from the taranchi and covered his expenses, but this has not been proven by anyone."

G. Gins. "Taranchi and Dungan" Essays from a trip to Semirechye. Historical Bulletin, No. 8. 1911

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Zharkent mosque is located at an altitude of 631 meters above sea level, is located in central part of village, in square of streets: Kunaev, Galparov, Masanchchi and Yuldashev in village of Zharkent, Panfilov district of Zhetysu region. 
Description of Zharkent mosque.
The mosque is an architectural monument of the XIXth century. The entire structure bears the stamp of the architect's talent and originality. He creatively used elements of Chinese architecture, giving the mosque some features of a Buddhist temple. The so-called floating roof, with its sloped ends curved upwards, and the gallery with cylindrical columns without capitals and a large cornice surrounding the building, give it special grace and lightness.
The main hall is largely made up of wood carving and bright po
lychrome painting. Due to this, the surface of the arches and walls acquires an openwork lightness and artistic sophistication. The ornament is dominated by plant motifs, but there are also images of birds, fish, real and fantastic animals. The total area of ​​the mosque is 28 × 54 meters, the height is 14.5 meters, the height of the minaret is 19 meters.
The minaret is surrounded by 52 columns. The entablature is decorated with wood carving. The columns are made of Tien Shan firs. No nails were used when building up the columns and other wooden parts. The walls of the mosque are made of beams, and the roof is made of tin.
The interior is decorated with Arabic script, national ornaments are used. In the courtyard of the mosque on the north-eastern side there is a small courtyard, and on the southern side - a madrasah. There are gates on the southern and northern sides. The mosque is built in the style of Central Asian architecture.
Prayer hall of Zharkent mosque.
The main hall can accommodate about a thousand believers. A spacious square hall with an aivan and an adjoining courtyard, covered with a steep gable roof, was functionally a quarter mosque. A mihrab niche was built into the western wall.
In the post-war years, the prayer hall was used as a warehouse and a grain storage facility. Restoration work carried out on the monument allowed the prayer house to return to its original appearance.
Fence of Zharkent mosque.
The mosque complex is enclosed by a 2.3-meter-high stone fence. The fence of the mosque is a characteristic element in the courtyard-type mosque complex. The western side, where the worshipers were facing, is made of blind brickwork with decorative designs of the base.
The fence is covered with tiles on top. The fence of the northern and southern sides is a decorative wooden lattice placed on a brick base. The intermediate pillars were decorated with large ceramic parts in the form of balls and voluminous flowers. The fence of the mosque has been restored.
Geographic coordinates of Zharkent mosque: N44°09'46 E80°00'01

Authority:
"Zhetysu is the Land of  tourism”. A Tourist Guide-book. Almaty.  2003. 68 p. and the material for this page is taken from the printed edition.

Photos by:
Alexander Petrov.