mosque - Central Asia - Turkmenistan - Islam - Dushanbe - Tajikistan - China - Muslim - Geok-Depe - Istanbul - Turkey - Andalusia - Spain - Aya Sophia - Xinjiang - Lanzhou - design - Uighur - Kashgar -
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The western and central parts of China feature large populations of Muslims. This is one of many mosques we passed on our bus from Lanzhou to Xiahe in China's Gansu province. Read more about our visit to Xiahe, China.
Doesn't really look like a mosque, but it is. This one was built for Karakol's Dungan community in 1910. No nails were used in its construction, which makes it even more impressive. Read more about our visit to Karakol and the rest of Kyrgyzstan.
Elaborately decorated ceiling at the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, China..© www.uncorneredmarket.com
This religious elder spends his evening hours chatting outside the Saparmyrat Hajii Mosque near Geok-Depe in Turkmenistan. Read more about Turkmenistan.
Haji Yakoub Mosque and advertisements for the October 2007 CIS Summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com
Food, religion and technology combine in the form of corn rows a mosque and a communication tower. Taken between Lanzhou and Xiahe in China's Gansu province. Read more about our visit to Xiahe, China.
Religious elders enjoy an evening outside the Saparmyrat Hajii Mosque in Turkmenistan. Read more about our visit to Turkmenistan.
This new mosque stands near the desert ruins of Anau Mosque. Read more about our visit to Turkmenistan.
Saparmyrat Hajii Mosque near Geok-Depe in Turkmenistan.Read more about our visit to Turkmenistan.
The sun sets over Saparmyrat Hajii Mosque near Geok-Depe. This mosque was built after Turkmenbashi's pilgrimage to Mecca...Geok-Depe is the site of the Turkmen's last stand against Russian forces. As the story goes, Russian forces took carte blanche to plunder and pillage. An estimated 15,000 Turkmens died in the battle (and aftermath).
Haji Yakoub Mosque in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com
Men gather to talk outside the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar after afternoon prayers. The mosque dates to 1442 and is the oldest and largest mosque in Kashgar..© www.uncorneredmarket.com
This gold-domed mosque outside of Ashgabat now houses the remains of Turkmenbashi and his family. Read more about our visit to Turkmenistan.
After Turkmenbashi converted from Communism and embraced Islam in the 1990s, he made his pilgrimage to Mecca. Rumor has it that he returned from Saudi Arabia with $10 billion in aid from the government...As most Turkmens do not have the opportunity to travel to Mecca, Sparmyrat Hajii Mosque was built in Geok-Depe (outside Ashgabat) to offer an alternative pilgrimage site. Like most buildings in Ashgabat, it's an elaborate affair.
The closest thing to Mecca in Turkmenistan - Saparmyrat Hajii Mosque. Read more about our visit to Turkmenistan.
Anau Mosque (15th century) is on the route between Ashgabat and Mary. Sheikh Djemalledin is buried here, making it a pilgrimage site where people leave money and symbolic items in hopes that their wishes of having children will be fulfilled. Read more about our visit to Turkmenistan.
© www.uncorneredmarket.com
The original church of the AyaSofya is from the 5th century, and was rebuilt after the huge dome collapsed several times in the 600 years that followed. In 1453, the Turks converted it from an Eastern Orthodox church to a mosque. Today, it houses the AyaSofya Museum, displaying a unique mix of Islamic symbols and Christian mosaics.© www.uncorneredmarket.com
When our tuk-tuk first dropped us off near Boeng Kak Lake, it looked like a standard backpacker area (lots of cheap restaurants, internet cafes, guest houses, and travel agencies). While trying to find a place to enjoy the sunset, we turned off the main road and followed it around a few blocks, behind this mosque. What we found was very different from the street we had just turned from, like a small village in the middle of the city. No tourists, all villagers.Read more about an amazing sunset at Boeng Kak Lake.
Haji Yakoub Mosque in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.© www.uncorneredmarket.com
© www.uncorneredmarket.com
© www.uncorneredmarket.com
The Haji Yakoub Mosque's architecture and design are similar to many of the sites we took in along the Silk Road in Uzbekistan. Mention the Silk Road cities to a Tajik, and he will ensure that you understand that even though the cities are technically incorporated into Uzbekistan, they were historically Tajik cities and belong to Tajikistan. Many ethnic Tajiks still live in Uzbek cities like Bukhara and Samarkand.© www.uncorneredmarket.com
Istanbul's Ortakoy Camii Mosque with the Fatih Sultan Mehmed bridge in the background. We found this lonely-looking mosque dwarfed by the bridge along a Bosporus river cruise which carried us from the European to the Asian side of Istanbul.We arrive in Istanbul after a 17-hour train ride from Sofia, Bulgaria. Our senses were slowly weakened by the smells of burning coal passing from the train’s engine. Upon arrival into Istanbul, however, our senses are kicked back into overdrive with a barrage of smells, sights and sounds.
