Khiva Friday Mosque, Islamic prayer site in Ichan-Kala, Uzbekistan
Khiva Friday Mosque is a large mosque in the heart of Khiva's old city, its roof supported by more than 200 carved wooden columns arranged in rows across a wide prayer hall. The hall is flat and mostly open, with ceiling openings that draw daylight down into the interior.
A mosque stood on this site as far back as the 10th century, though the current structure was built entirely between 1778 and 1782. The reconstruction was carried out under local rulers who wanted to reinforce Khiva's role as a center of religious life in the region.
The prayer hall of the Friday Mosque is used for communal worship, and visitors walking through it can see how the carved wooden columns vary noticeably in style from one to the next. Some carvings are deep and dense, while others are lighter, reflecting different periods of local craftsmanship.
The building can be entered through three separate doors, which helps with orientation when moving through the prayer hall. The floor is uneven in places, so comfortable footwear is helpful, and the lighting inside shifts depending on the time of day.
Four of the wooden columns actually date from the 10th and 11th centuries and were brought from the ancient city of Kath, long before the current building existed. These columns survived the complete reconstruction of the 18th century and are the oldest objects inside the building today.
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