Recreation of Sheikh Khodja Akhror Vali Historic Complex

7/26/2019 Recreation of Sheikh Khodja Akhror Vali Historic Complex

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 3, ISSUE 12, DECEMBER 2014 ISSN 2277-8616

300IJSTR2014www.ijstr.org

Recreation Of Sheikh Khodja Akhror Vali HistoricComplex

Muhammad Akhmedov & Dinara Nazarova

Abstract : A native of Tashkent Sheikh UbaydullahKhodjaAkhrorVali is well known as one of the most influential dignitaries and statesmen of the XVcentury. Being among the most prominent public leaders KhodjaAkhror had his land possessions reaching Egypt.

Index Terms : block mosque, large scale construction, jami-mosque, madrasah Project master plan

1 INTRODUCTIONA native of Tashkent Sheikh UbaydullahKhodjaAkhrorVali iswell known as one of the most influential dignitaries andstatesmen of the XV century. Being among the mostprominent public leaders KhodjaAkhror had his landpossessions reaching Egypt.

2 P ROCEDURE FOR PAPER S UBMISSION

2.1 Review StageKhodjaAkhrorVali played an important role in the cultural,religious, and political life of Maverannahr. For a long timehe lived in Samarqand, where he was buried. A familyburial vault appeared next to his grave along with amemorial complex consisting of mosques, a minaret, ahovuz (a small octagonal pond), a khonako and amadrasah. Being an influential religious leaderKhodjaAkhror is also famous for large scale construction inhis native city. In Tashkent he built an entire complex,which comprised a jami-mosque together with a blockmosque and a madrasah. The complex was located in thearea called Binkat, which is considered to be among themost ancient parts of a medieval Shakhristan of Tashkent.(Ill. 1) Based on historic data, received from the archive ofHead Department of Cultural Heritage Protection (HDCHP)as well as on archaeological excavations performed by aprominent archaeologist M.I.Filanovich, we may assumethis could be the boundary of Shakhristan, enclosed by afortified wall with several portal gates.

Ill . 1. Shakhristan in the frame of medieval Tashkent.

Ill . 2. Current condition of the former complex site alongKhakikat str. in Tashkent

KhodjaAkhrorValijami-mosque is in the heart of anarchitectural complex, situated close to Chorsu square. Thisis the only example of a jami-mosque with an inner courtyard typical for medieval Central Asian architecture. Itsfoundation was laid back in the IX century following theorder of a local emir YahyaibnAsad. In 1432 KhodjaAkhrorpaid a visit to Tashkent. Leaving it, he made arrangementsto build a large jami-mosque and a madrasah. A small blockmosque called Gulbazar, which still exists, was built at thesame time period.

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Doctoral candidate DinaraNazarova, Tashkent Architectural building Institute, UzbekistanE-mail: [email protected]

DSc. Professor M.K. Akhmedov, Tashkent Architectural building Institute, UzbekistanE-mail: [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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2.2 Final StageThe mosque was completed in 1451. It had long shelteredgalleries all along its northern, eastern and southern parts.The mosques floor plan has a shape of an extremelyextended rectangle with the mosque at the end of an east-west axis. The long court yard was initially enclosed by asingle-storied arched-domed gallery. In the second half ofthe XVIII century the gallery already destroyed by the time

was restored and converted into khudjras, thus rearrangingthe mosque into KhodjaAkhrorVali madrasah. The mosquewas placed in the north-eastern part of the medievalShakhristan, next to lost KhodjaAkhror madrasah. Thismonument was an example of a XV end of XIV centurycourt-yard type jami-mosque, being 91 m long and 36.5 mwide with a 6624 m courtyard though it lacked typicaldcor and facing. Through centuries the monumentunderwent numerous repairs. The western part collapsed in1888 and was restored later using different structures andmethods compared to the rest of the building. The followingrepairs and restorations are dated 1954. (source: data fromHDCHP archive).

3 Sections KhodjiAkhrorVali madrasah was located within themedieval Shakhristan in its north-western part. Thecomplex, which incorporated KhodjiAkhrormadrasah waserected in the western end of the street, which connectedAbdul-Abbas and Djunemda gates. The madrasah wascompleted in 1451 als o following KhodjiAkhrors order. Thefloor plan had a rectangular, almost square shape32,529,0 m with an inner court yard and the main faadewith a portal facing the south (it was heavily distorted in theXIV century). The walls on both sides from the entranceportal had blind arches. Having rectangular floor plan themosque had 21 cells along the perimeter as well as 2 ivansalong the longitudinal axis of the yard. The building washeavily damaged during the earthquake on the 3 November1947. In 1951 the mosque was completely demolished andonly thanks to historic, archival and bibliographic data wecould recollect its original appearance and assess itshistoric significance.

Ill . 5. Entrance portal of KhodjaAkhror madrasah; Part ofthe inner court yard of KhodjaAkhror madrasah

4 HELPFUL HINTS

4.1 Figures and TablesBased on measurements made and photos taken themadrasah had undergone numerous reconstructions and asa result lost its former appeal. The recreation of the lostmadrasah primarily aims at creating rich historic andarchitectural environment also shaped byHodjaAkhrorValijomi-mosque and a small Gulbazar blockmosque. The planning structure reproduces its originalparameters. The inner court yard and cells dimensions areidentical to the original design. The use of complexstructures and modern construction materials is acceptableduring the restoration, although every effort should be madeto preserve an architectural image the building used tohave.


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Ill . 3. KhodjaAkhror madrasah inner court yard (left: photo,right: design proposal)

Ill . 4. KhodjaAkhror madrasah: floor plan, elevation,sections; right photo: design proposal

4.2 AcknowledgmentsThe proposal is made to decorate the restored madrasahwith majolica, which was widely used at the period todecorate madrasah portals. The project also impliesreconverting the madrasah into craft workshops where the

handmade items could also be traded.

KhodjaAkhrorVali block mosque (now called Gulbozor)was built up at approximately the same time as a large

jami-mosque. It is a square shaped floor plan buildingcovered with a dome. The entrance to the mosque on thewest side is covered with ivan supported by 3 woodencolumns. Everything seems to indicate that the ivan alsocovered the northern part of the building that lookedtowards household facilities. Nowadays the mosque is usedto store books and needs to be slightly repaired. Recentlya decree was issued by the government of Uzbekistan toregenerate the old city of Tashkent.

Ill . 6 . KhodjaAkhror block mosque (left: current state, right:reconstruction proposal)

Ill . 7. The general view of the design proposal onKhodjaAkhrorVali complex.

Ill .8. Project master plan:


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1. KhodjaAkhrorValijomi-mosque 2. Block mosque 3. KhodjaAhrorVali madrasah 4. Darvoza with a fragment of city wall 5. Archaeological reserve zone 6. Landscaping layout imitating national ornament 7. Khovuz

4 CONCLUSION Within the framework of the project aimed at rehabilitationand preservation of the historic city of Tashkent we haveprepared a proposal and an architectural project to recreateKhodjaAkhrorVali complex. In the project we suggest torecreate the madrasah based on archival data also torestore Gulbozor block mosque to bring it to its originalstate. Besides, our proposal is to replace the existingroofing material on the mosque dome and three domesover jomi-mosque with a more traditional one, probablyimitating majolica glazing. We also suggest to wall the innercourt yard of the block mosque with a brick wall thussplitting it into zones, convert it into a small museum andimprove the surrounding area with greenery and ponds.The area to the east from the block mosque may be left asa small archaeological reserve, uncovering where possiblethe cultural-historical layers as this upland is considered tobe one of the most ancient parts of the city. To produceeven better impression of KhodjaAkhror ensemble wewould suggest restoring a fragment of the city wall togetherwith entrance portal-darvoza thus recreating one of themost ancient pearls of Tashkent KhodjaAkhrrValicomplex.

Recreation of Sheikh Khodja Akhror Vali Historic Complex

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