Astrakhan Green Mosque, Wooden mosque in Astrakhan, Astrakhan Oblast, Russia

The Astrakhan Green Mosque is a building covered in bright green tiles with simple white walls, featuring rounded domes that create a traditional Islamic silhouette. It has plain details on its exterior walls and a small minaret standing nearby, both visible when you approach the structure.

The wooden mosque was built in 1831 by Nurashi Niyazov (or, by another account, Ibrahim Niyazov) in the former Tsarevskaya Sloboda, for the Astrakhan Tatars and Karagash living around it. In 1898 the Nogai enlightener Abdrakhman Umerov became its imam-khatib and teacher, and by 1901 it counted 204 male and 202 female parishioners. Closed in 1938 by the Stalingrad Oblast Executive Committee, it served as a dormitory and a clinic, then stood abandoned until restoration began in 2012 and it reopened on 10 June 2022.

The mosque serves as a gathering place for the Muslim community of Astrakhan, especially during religious holidays when locals come together to pray and celebrate. It represents the religious diversity of the city, where different faith traditions peacefully coexist.

Dress modestly when entering the mosque and speak softly once inside to show respect for the space and those at prayer. Entry is free and the building is open to visitors at certain times, with guides sometimes available to explain its history.

The mosque is also called the Yurt Mosque, after the Yurt Tatars and Karagash who formed its congregation in the former Tsarevskaya Sloboda. Its wooden building was closed in 1938 and served as a dormitory and a clinic before restoration began in 2012 and finished with the reopening on 10 June 2022.