The mosque named after Khoja Zainiddin

The khanaka mosque of Khoja Zainiddin is one of the masterpieces of the architectural art of the Middle Ages, hidden from the eyes of outsiders in the shady streets of one of the Bukhara neighborhoods. The history of the construction of the majestic structure dates back to the beginning of the XVI century and is shrouded in many secrets and legends. It is still not known for certain by whom the mosque was built. 

According to one legend, the mosque was built by Abdullah Khan, according to another – by a local rich man Dustbai, but none of these versions has yet been confirmed.

To date, the Khoja Zainiddin ensemble includes a khanaka mosque and a reservoir. 

The khanaka mosque is built in a traditional style with a dome in the center. The building includes the grave of Khoja Zainiddin, the building of a Muslim elementary school (mekteb) and several cells (hujras). The mosque building stands on a brick platform and its four walls face the four cardinal directions. The main facade of the mosque is the southern facade, the decoration of which is crowned by a five–sided portal - niche decorated with glazed mosaics. From the southern portal you can get into the corner rooms, which are accessed by carved doorways. Opposite the main portal is the northern portal and both of them are united by aivans on wooden columns. The columns of the aivans deserve special attention of visitors as they are decorated with mukarnas and painted pilasters. The western facade of the mosque faces towards guzar (neighborhood), at this facade every visitor feels an atmosphere of peace and solitude not peculiar to other sides of the mosque. It is behind this facade with vaulted niches that the tomb of Khoja Zainiddin is located, which according to the Muslim faith is made in a modest style and is a rectangular sagan, which was once decorated with special poles - tug, which were previously located only at the graves of holy personalities. 

The decoration of the mosque is richly decorated. The lower part of it is decorated with a mosaic panel, which then turns into a mihrab (the side to which believers turn during prayers), and the crown is a dome. Numerous arches of the mosque are decorated with floral paintings in the “kundal” technique, an intricate ornament is painted in gold on a sky-blue background. Along the perimeter of all the walls and at the base of the dome there are texts from the Koran. 

In the courtyard of the mosque there are hujras (monastic cells), which were previously used by students of the madrasah, which bears the name of Khoja Rahmatullah. Next to the cells there are several rooms for traditional ablution (tahorathona). 

The mosque complex includes the oldest water reservoir on the territory of Bukhara, rectangular in shape built of stone blocks in the form of an open dragon's mouth. The spillway of the house is also covered with patterns in geometric and floral style. 

The architectural ensemble has been restored several times. In 1913, the reconstruction was led by Bukhara Emir Alim Khan. During the years of independence, in 2004, the reconstruction of the ensemble's facilities was carried out.

The Khoja Zainiddin Mosque has served as a shelter for dervishes, a gathering place for Sufis and a quarter mosque for more than 500 years. Any tourist and traveler will not remain indifferent to the majestic building of the mosque, the richly decorated walls of which have witnessed historical events, however, despite this, convey an atmosphere of wisdom, calmness and peace.