Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – The Kalon Mosque, Kalon Minar and the Mir-I Arab Madrassa
The Kalon ensemble of architecture is a key site to visit in Bukhara. In this part of Old Bukhara you will come across the Kalon Mosque, the Kalon Minar and the Mir-I Arab Madrassa.
The Sights and Smells of the Bukhara Marketplace
On our way we passed by a bazaar, but it was certainly touristy with posh price tags. The beautiful spice shop there displayed piles and piles of herbs in canvas sacks. The herbs exuded a mixed aroma of distinctly middle-eastern flavors.
The sensory experience is wildly tinkering, tantalizing one to the imagination of all sorts of pleasures. The first imagery is the mouth-watering platter of grilled shashlik heavily seasoned in the pungency of cumin. Then comes the association with the calming aroma of tea. Following is the imagery of a warm firelit night of indoor reading in a room teemed with spicy middle-eastern incense, the book in hand could very well have been the Arabian Nights.
The perfume stand similarly invited us to a continuous imagined association with all things Arabic, and I went through the marketplace with a sense of the surreal that I only experienced when I traveled.
If I could, I would pack sacks and sacks of herbs and spices home. As it turned out, we would be getting these spices as our souvenirs at a local spice shop next to the Samani Park. That was quite an experience itself. I will share about that in an upcoming entry.
And having passed the perfume stand, we soon came face to face with the beautiful Kalon group of structures and the Mir-I Arab Madrassa.
The Kalon (Kalyan) Mosque
Meaning the “Great Mosque,” Kalon Mosque was built in 1514 after the golden era of Amir Timur’s reign. Built on the former foundation of an 8th century mosque, which was wholly destroyed when Genghis Khan raided Bukhara (more below on Genghis Khan), this mosque had grand visions for its religious role in Bukhara. It is the biggest mosque in Bukhara and can host over 10,000 worshippers during the Ramadan. When it was built, the city of Bukhara had about 10,000 males in its population.
Known also as the Juma Mosque (meaning “Friday Mosque”), the Kalon Mosque was the work of the Shaybanids.
There are a total of 208 columns, 288 domes and 28 arches in the courtyard. The sight is stately there. By this hour of the morning, the sun has blessed us with generous daylight. We savored the elegant views at the heart of sacredness in Bukhara. At the far end, the blue dome called Kok Gumbaz sits above an unusual octagonal structure “designed to improve the building’s acoustics, amplifying the voice of the imam as he speaks his Friday sermon.” (Bradt 238-239)
Finally, the inscription of the Kalon Mosque says, “Immortality belongs to God.”
During the Soviet times, the Kalon Mosque was used as a warehouse. It finally reopened to worshippers in 1991.
The Kalon (Kalyan) Minar
Meaning the “Great Minaret,” the Kalon Minar was built in 1127. At the time, it was thought to be the tallest free standing tower in the world. When Genghis Khan came in the early 13th century, he was very impressed by the tower, spared it but destroyed everything else besides it and all else in Bukhara too. Over the centuries, earthquakes have destroyed some parts of the tower, especially in the top.
It is said that the Uzbeks used to throw prisoners tied in sacks from the top of this tower as punishment, and the practice continued for centuries. Access to the long stairs inside the tower is no longer allowed for common tourists.
The Mir-I Arab Madrassa
Mir Arab, meaning “Arab Emir,” was born in Yemen. He abandoned his throne when he was 22 years old, and turned to serious studies of science and education in Samarkand. He then met the emir of Bukhara, and became the mentor for many scientists in this city full of intellectual heritage.
Construction for the Mir-I Arab Madrassa began in 1530 and completed in 1536, but after Mir Arab has died. “With the exception of a 21 year period of closure from 1925-1946, the madrassa has remained fully functional, including throughout the Soviet period” (Bradt 239) and continuing to this day in fact. The 120 students here attend a demanding four-year program in Arabic and Qu’ranic studies, as the beginning of their journey to becoming imams. There are also general subjects for study. Over this long history of education provision, the Mir-I Arab Madrassa has trained both historic and contemporary Islamic scientists.
One special architectural structure of the Mir-I Arab Madrassa is the two blue domes, which is unique for madrassas. There is a mosque inside the school, as well as the burial for Mir Arab and his relatives.
Like the Registan of Samarkand, the Kalyon emsemble lights up for night viewing and photos.
A Word About Genghis Khan’s Mongol Conquest of Uzbekistan
The great Mongol warrior Genghis Khan established the Mongol Empire in 1206 and waged wars against countries that were perhaps a few steps away from being its immediate neighbors. The victorious campaigns resulted in an empire that spanned from the Pacific to Central Europe. The Mongol rule of Persia would persist into the 15th century as the Timurid Empire, and the Mongol rule of India would last till the 19th century as the Mughal Empire. In the 1271, the Mongols took over the rule of China by the proclamation of Genghis Khan’s grandson, Kubla Khan, who established the Yuan Dynasty.
As warriors the Mongols were fierce in battle and their conquests were known for causing great casualties to both the people and the cities. Uzbekistan can attest to the long trail of bloodshed that Genghis Khan has left. He has sacked the cities and blazed every heritage or religious site that came in his way. In Uzbekistan, wholesale massacres and plunders of cities occurred in Samarkand, Termez, Bukhara, Khiva and Gurganj. As a result of the atrocities of the Mongolian invasions, many heritage sites in these old cities were rebuilt in later centuries, some even as late as the 19th century.
A wholesale destruction of Islamic edifices may suggest that Genghis Khan is against Islam. Scholars have, however, noted that the Mongols that ended up ruling formerly Islam-observing nations were not inherently against Islam as a religion. Rather, at least before the Timurid’s conversion to Islam, the Mongols insisted on treating different religions even-handedly. As we all know, Amir Timur himself would become a Muslim ruler of Uzbekistan.
The Failed Food Ventures for the Day
For lunch we sat down at a café called Halva Book Café. Although the ambiance was excellent, our dining experience there was frustrating. I ordered a sandwich and my friend ordered a beef tongue salad. Both did not turn out that good and both took a very long time to arrive.
For dinner, we sat down for steak but despite explicit requests for medium rare, the meat came out nearly well done. My friend scolded me for insisting on eating steak in Uzbekistan.
Sources
Descriptions on site at the Mir-I Arab Madrassa.
The Wikipedia on Genghis Khan.
The Wikipedia on Mongol Invasions and Conquests.
Globalsecurity.org, Uzbekistan, the Mongol Period.
Peter Jackson, The Mongols and the Islamic World from Conquest to Conversion, Yale University Press, April 27, 2017.