The unique Chor-Minor

Hello, dear friends! Today my short story will be dedicated to native Uzbekistan - to noble Bukhara. Because there is a unique building - the Chor-Minor Madrasah. This is a unique type of structure, and it does not occur in other cities. The architecture of this building is confusing - it is so strong it stands out against the background of other buildings. My regular readers have already got an idea about the historical buildings of Uzbekistan - usually a madrassa or a mosque. And for those, and for others - the entrance is a richly decorated portal, and behind it is a building with a dome, painted in blue. Plus a couple of minarets on each side. Of course, the buildings vary in size, degree of safety and beauty of ornaments but in general all of them are the same.

But this does not apply to Chor-Minor. Madrasah (i.e., an educational institution for Muslim theologians) was built with the money of the rich merchant Khalif Niyaz-kul. What you see in the photo is the remainder of the madrasah complex, which has survived to our days - a mosque with four towers.

According to the legend, Khalif Niyaz-kul made a trip to India and was impressed by the greatness of the Taj Mahal. Upon his return, he assembled the architects and builders and offered to sponsor the construction of the madrasah. He had two conditions - the first one: the madrassah should be located on the Great Silk Road so that travelers could visit it. Second one - the building should symbolize the equality of all parts of the world and the equality of all people on the planet. Since all people equally come to this world, they live on the same planet, breathe the same air and the sky is the same for all.

Soon the building was built. Each tower-minaret had its own special form and design. According to some scientists each minaret symbolizes one of the four world religions. If you look closely, you can see patterns similar to a Buddhist wheel, a Christian fish or a cross. All four minarets connect the dome, symbolizing the unity of God and heaven. Under this cupola of Sufis (representatives of Sufism - the esoteric stream in Islam) held their ritual ceremonies.

On the sides of this building were added cells for students, a library, as well as utility rooms, which unfortunately did not survive.

Interestingly, I found this type of building only in one place - in the Bach ad-Din complex, which is located in a suburb of Bukhara. This set is dedicated to Bahauddin Naqshbandi - the sheikh (leader) of the Sufi tariqata Naqshbandi. In Europe, an analogy to such a tariqa (brotherhood) was the Order (the Order of the Templars, the Order of the Jesuits, etc.). This brotherhood was the richest, most influential and powerful in the East.

But it's not about that. The story of Naqshbandiyah is a topic for a separate post. I want to show photos of a kind of miniature copy of Chor-Minor, which is used as a reservoir for drinking water.