There is a special district in Tashkent called the Old City. It can rightfully be considered the center of the history of the capital of Uzbekistan, since it is here that many architectural monuments of high spiritual and historical value are concentrated.
One of them is located near the Chorsu market, near Hazrat Imam Square. The madrasah was named after Barak Khan. Construction did not proceed in one stage, and therefore was completed only by 1532. At the first stage, the construction of the “Nameless” mausoleum began. It has only four rooms, and the main hall, due to the layout of the rooms, is made in a cruciform shape. There is a version that this mausoleum was previously the residence of the Supreme Mufti of the Muslim Administration of Uzbekistan.
The next stage was the construction of the Suyunijhanu mausoleum. The entire complex is made of unusual, torn bricks. The reason for this choice is unknown, but it looks amazing. The entrance to the mausoleum and its dome are brightly decorated. It is believed that the dome was previously covered with beautiful stones, and inside was decorated with an ornament consisting of eight-pointed stars. Therefore, the mausoleum received its second name - Kuk Gumboz, which means “Blue-domed”.
It is not possible to confirm or refute this, since in 1868 the dome collapsed due to an earthquake. The interior of the madrasah is a courtyard surrounded by hijras. All of them are one-story. The madrasah is shaped like an elongated trapezoid around a courtyard. Inside the madrasah there are burials that appeared significantly later than the construction of the attraction itself. The organizer of the construction, Barak Khan, was buried in Samarkand in 1556.
Life here today looks a little different. A new building of the Barak Khan madrasah was built, into which the Muslim Administration moved. All hijras were reoriented into craft workshops of folk craftsmen. But this does not mean that the spiritual heritage of the madrasah was lost.
Craftsmen here make stands for reading the Koran, various products decorated with excerpts from the Koran. Embossers make dishes decorated with embossed ornate patterns. Therefore, despite the fact that part of the madrasah has already been lost by now, and some have been modified, even today in this place you can find a lot of interesting and useful things for yourself.
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