Friday mosque · Samarkand City

Khoja Abdi Darun Mosque

Type

Friday mosque

District

Samarkand City

Built

1908–1909 (neighbourhood mosque)

A Friday mosque in the Khoja Abdi Darun ensemble. Its iwan-fronted neighbourhood mosque beside the tomb of a 9th-century judge dates from 1908–09; active officially since 1981.

21 Sadriddin Ayni St, Samarkand

History

The mosque stands in the ensemble around the tomb of Khoja Abdi Darun, one of Samarkand's earliest Sufis, a scholar and judge (qadi). Abu Tahir Khoja's Samariya gives his real name as Muizuddin, and Abul Hakim Samarqandi's Qandiya says he died in 861. Darun means 'inner': the grave lay inside the city's ancient Devori Qiyomat wall.

In the 19th century a mosque with a front iwan was built on the west side of the courtyard. Its timber-framed structure is a fine example of local vernacular building, and the paintwork on its ceiling and walls records the names of its builders and decorators along with the completion date, 1908–09. The mosque has been officially active since 1981.

The new building

A new mosque building is going up in the ensemble to shelter worshippers from rain and heat at Friday and Eid prayers. By early 2020 an ablution block for 100 people, service rooms and a library were finished, and the first brick of the prayer hall was laid in March 2020; work was still in progress in October 2021. According to the imam, the new hall is designed for 6,500 people.

More about the monument

Shrine

Khoja Abdi Darun Complex

An ancient shrine around a plane-shaded pool

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 (11)