Xoja Zayniddin

 Khoja Zayniddin complex is an architectural monument in Bukhara (first half of the 16th century); A historical monument built by master Mir Dostumbi in honor of Imam al-Bukhari at the initiative of Zayniddin during the Shaibani dynasty of Bukhara Khanate. The complex is located in Khoja Zayniddin Guzar, in the southwestern part of the city. The Khoja Zayniddin complex has a mosque, a pool, a school, a mausoleum, and rooms for pilgrims[1]. Currently, the complex is included in the national list of immovable property objects of material and cultural heritage of Uzbekistan.

Design and Description

Like all mosques in central Asia, the mosque is organized around an east-west axis canted to the south, toward Mecca, with the qibla wall to the west. The ideal mosque is symmetrical, but the dense urban fabric of 16th century Bukhara likely necessitated a compromise, such that the angle of the building's south and west facades (facing the street) are out of kilter with the primary axis. 

The building's prayer hall is a spacious domed chamber measuring 9.5 x 9.4 meters, with the dome rising 16 meters overhead with a diameter of 8.2 meters. The main entrance, on the east, includes a deeply recessed chamber crowned with stalactite-like muqarnas vaulting. A similar treatment is used on the qibla wall to the west, which also incorporates at its heart a smaller but a more subdued mihrab (niche) indicating the direction of Mecca. The chamber's north and south walls are pierced with a number of doors and windows, some covered by grilles (pandzhara) to attenuate light and prevent entry by birds.Structurally, the domed chamber is supported by a chahar taq, a set of four sturdy arches perpendicular to one another, forming a square in plan.

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