Chakar Mosque: An Eighteenth-Century Mosque in Karshi, Uzbekistan
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Uzbekistan
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Khanate of Bukhara
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Mosque
On this page4 sections
History
Chakar Mosque is an eighteenth-century mosque in Karshi, Uzbekistan, located in the Chakar neighborhood of the city’s Old Town. Its architecture belongs to the Central Asian tradition, and the building remains an important religious monument within the historic urban area.
The mosque is currently in a dilapidated condition under the auspices of the Chakar neighborhood. Uzbekistan placed it under state protection through a presidential decision dated December 19, 2018, concerning the protection of tangible cultural heritage. On October 4, 2019, Cabinet of Ministers decision No. 846 included Chakar Mosque and Sharifboy Madrasah in the national register of immovable tangible-cultural-heritage properties. In 2022, social media criticism drew attention to repair and restoration needs at both monuments.
Remains
Exterior Form and Entrance
The mosque has a traditional Central Asian layout and an exterior shaped by the iwan, a roofed hall or porch open on one side and supported by columns. Columns support the iwans, while entry is made through doors opening from a porch or veranda. The walls are plain and covered with ganj plaster, a gypsum-based plaster traditionally used in Central Asian construction. This architectural character has parallels in the built tradition of Bukhara.
Columns and Interior Ornament
In the central part of the mosque, carved columns support the ceiling timbers. Their lower protective sections are made of marble, and the mihrab, the prayer niche indicating the direction of prayer, contains carved marble ornament. The wooden columns are decorated with carefully carved floral images and varied geometric forms, combining structural support with the mosque’s principal surviving decorative detail.
