Chakar Mosque

Islam has the tradition of replacing old timeworn cult structures with new ones of the same purpose. To construct a civil building on the site of a cult one was considered blameworthy and sacrilegious. Thus, by tradition, in the early 20th century the new mosque Chakar replaced the old dilapidated Marghilan’s mosque.

Initially the new mosque had a winter praying hall, an ayvan terrace, and household facilities around the yard. In the Soviet times most of the mosque was destroyed due to the reconstruction of the town. Only dissymmetric summer ayvan with its three sides shut and one side open eastward has survived.

The flat ceiling of the ayvan is partitioned by wooden beams into rectangular plafonds decorated with splendid paintings. They show vases with bouquets of flowers against red or green backgrounds. The tall decoratively shaped cornice of the ayvan, skillfully carved out of wood, is covered with patterns of trefoils with red flowers. One of the beams bears an inscription in Arabic. It says that the mosque was built in 1911 (1329 of Hegira) and shows the names of the builders of the mosque – Usto Tukhtabek and Mir-Bobo Hajji of Hojent.

The exquisite interior decoration of the building, especially the paintings of the plafonds, is a remarkable example of extraordinary skills of the Ferghana Valley craftsmen and makes Chakar Mosque one of the popular Marghilan’s tourist attractions.

Sightseeing Places in Ferghana Valley

Kokand:	Marghilan:
Khudayar-Khan Palace	Chakar Mosque
Dakhma-i-shakhan Royal Cemetery	Seieed Ahmad Hajji Madrassah
Jami Mosque	'Yodgorlik' Silk-weaving Mil
Narbuta-bey Madrassah	Pir-Siddik Architectural Complex
Modari-khan Mausoleum
Rishtan:	Kuva:
Rishtan Ceramics Center	Buddhist Complex of Kuba Site
Andijan:	Chust:
Jami Madrassah	Chust Knives Manufacturing Workshop
Jami Mosque	Namangan:
Zakhiriddin Babur architectural Complex	Ancient Settlement of Aksikent