Friday mosque · Samarkand City

Qosh Hovuz Mosque

Type

Friday mosque

District

Samarkand City

Built

c. 1897–1903 (rebuilt)

A Friday mosque in the Qosh Hovuz quarter just behind the Registan, rebuilt around 1897–1903 at the expense of a local benefactor, Ahmadjon Hoji Bobo.

68 Qoshhovuz St, Samarkand

History

Around 1897–1903 the mosque was rebuilt at his own expense by Ahmadjon Hoji Bobo. Its walls are of sturdy mud brick, with a traditional vassajuft beamed ceiling carried on columns. The Qosh Hovuz complex is listed on the national heritage register as a 19th–20th-century monument.

The name and the quarter

The quarter grew up in the 15th century in the north-west of the old city. It once had a madrasa, two mosques, a school, a bathhouse, a caravanserai, a spice bazaar and a two-tier pool: water settled out its silt in the first basin and then flowed into the second, where it was clean enough to drink. Hence the name Qosh Hovuz, 'twin pools'.

Today a stepped pool in the mosque courtyard recalls the old one. The quarter borders Khojajon Khoja to the north, Sufi Roziq and Maddohi to the east, Tagi Shor to the south, and the Kok Masjid and Yusufboy quarters to the west.

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 (8)