The Holy Khast Imam Complex In Tashkent

The closest place to a Silk Road era holy place in Tashkent is the Khast Imam, Hazrati complex of a mosque and madrasas. Most of the buildings can be dated back to the 16th century with plenty of destruction and disrepair necessitating rebuilding in later, more recent years. The complex didn't become a unified area until 2007.

Here's the major mosque at the site, Khast Imam mosque.

Inside the main entryway of the mosque, a nice courtyard that features a wrap around, wood column portico. Inside, standard modern mosque design. Always good to go with a base of white.

Opposite the Khast Imam mosque, across the expansive plaza, sits the classic styled Barakhan madrasa. Good for group tour gazing. "My powder room would look good with blue and green tile."

These days, no learning is going on inside the madrasa, only souvenir hunting by tourists. Learn to bargain? Nearby, the shrine, mausoleum dedicated to Abu Bakr Kaffal Shashi. He was a 10th century poet, linguist, polymath, scholar. Maybe good with shoeing a horse.

The future is soon and it is massive. The current Uzbek president and some major donor oligarch have pushed through something called an Islamic Civilization Center. It sits near Khast Imam and will dwarf the complex upon completion. There goes the properly scaled neighborhood.