Friday mosque · Samarkand City

Rukhabad Mosque

Type

Friday mosque

District

Samarkand City

Built

1903

A Friday mosque beside the Rukhabad Mausoleum and madrasa. The present building dates from 1903 (1325 AH); in Soviet times it housed a library and a house of culture.

1 Qizil Yulduz St (by the Rukhabad Mausoleum), Samarkand

History

Sources say a mosque stood here earlier, its predecessor traditionally dated to the age of Ulugh Beg. An inscription on the present building records that it was rebuilt in 1325 AH, that is 1903, and before the revolution students and teachers of the Rukhabad madrasa prayed here.

In Soviet times the building served as a library and a house of culture. After independence it was returned to the faithful, and the building and its painted decoration were restored for an Amir Timur jubilee. The Rukhabad complex (mausoleum, madrasa, mosque and minaret) is on the national heritage register.

Architecture

The mosque sits on a low brick-faced platform. A lofty prayer hall is wrapped on the east and north by an iwan whose painted timber ceiling rests on 12 carved columns with marble bases. A small minaret marks the courtyard entrance, and at Friday prayers the rows of worshippers spill from the hall and iwan onto the platform itself.

More about the monument

Mausoleum

Rukhabad Mausoleum

The "abode of the spirit", a saint Timur revered

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 (10)