Bibi-Khanym Mosque

The colossal Friday mosque Timur built in 1399–1404, today a museum monument run by the Samarkand State Museum-Reserve and part of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

40 Islam Karimov St (next to Siab Bazaar), Samarkand

In brief

Timur began the mosque in 1399 on his return from India, and it was finished in 1404. Its outer walls enclosed an area of 167 by 109 metres, with a 78 by 64-metre courtyard ringed by galleries on more than 400 marble columns. Over the centuries the building slowly crumbled, and the earthquake of 1897 badly damaged the main domed hall.

The mosque has been restored in stages since 1974, and a new international restoration project was agreed in 2024. The Bibi-Khanym mosque complex (15th century) is on the national heritage register and open as a museum monument; see the monument page for the full story.

Official list: Listed by the Samarkand branch of the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan (sammuslim.uz).

Visiting a mosque: cover shoulders and knees (women should wear a headscarf) and take your shoes off at the door; avoid prayer times and ask before taking photos.

Details come from official sources and were checked in October 2026. Details may change — please check before you visit. Something wrong? Let us know

Sources (7)

1. lex.uz/uz/docs/-4543266
2. whc.unesco.org/en/list/603/
3. ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Мечеть_Биби-Ханым
4. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibi-Khanym_Mosque
5. uz.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibixonim_jome_masjidi
6. yandex.uz/maps/org/198743989977/
7. openstreetmap.org/node/12029940233