Bolo Haouz Mosque, Friday mosque near Ark Fortress in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Bolo Haouz Mosque is a Friday mosque in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, standing directly across from the Ark citadel. It has two separate prayer sections: an open summer hall fronted by a wooden columned porch, and an enclosed winter hall at the rear of the building.
The mosque was built in 1712 during the rule of the Bukhara Emirate and served from the start as the main place of worship for the city. In the early 20th century, extra wooden columns were added to the summer hall to reinforce its structure.
The name Bolo Haouz means 'above the pool' in Uzbek, referring to the large basin that still sits just in front of the entrance. On Fridays, local worshippers gather here in numbers, and the wooden porch fills with people before and after prayer.
The mosque stands on Registan Square in the heart of Bukhara's old city and is easy to reach on foot from the main sights. Non-Muslim visitors are generally welcome, but covered shoulders and knees are expected and extra care should be taken during prayer times.
The wooden columns of the summer hall are each made from two trunks joined together, which you can see if you look closely at the seam running along the middle of each column. The pool in front of the entrance was once used daily by worshippers for ritual washing and is now a gathering spot for local residents.
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