Dome of the Namazga Mosque. Samarkand

1905
Shown here is the Namazga Mosque, located on the southern outskirts of Samarkand. Built as early as the 11th century in another location, the mosque was rebuilt in the 1630s by Nadir Divan-Begi. Its name refers to a form of ritual worship in Islam—Namaz (in Persian), or Salah (in Arabic). The mosque was dedicated to the Eid al-Fitr holiday, observed at the end of the Ramadan fast. The main facade consists of an arcade centered on a large iwan (entrance arch) leading to the main structure. The mosque culminates in a dome supported by a high cylinder. The photograph shows modest polychrome tile decoration on the facade and the cylinder. At the top of the dome is a stork’s nest. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including a trip in January 1907 that focused on the ancient city of Samarkand.

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Filename: 617.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 1800x1797 / 547.8KB; 1905 Uzbekistan Samarqand Samarkand Domes Namazga Mosque Nadir Divan-Begi Arches Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii Photo WDL 010020
Contained in galleries: UZBEKISTAN

1905<br />
Shown here is the Namazga Mosque, located on the southern outskirts of Samarkand. Built as early as the 11th century in another location, the mosque was rebuilt in the 1630s by Nadir Divan-Begi. Its name refers to a form of ritual worship in Islam—Namaz (in Persian), or Salah (in Arabic). The mosque was dedicated to the Eid al-Fitr holiday, observed at the end of the Ramadan fast. The main facade consists of an arcade centered on a large iwan (entrance arch) leading to the main structure. The mosque culminates in a dome supported by a high cylinder. The photograph shows modest polychrome tile decoration on the facade and the cylinder. At the top of the dome is a stork’s nest. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including a trip in January 1907 that focused on the ancient city of Samarkand.