One of the beautiful mosques I visited in Samarqand was the Ruh Obod Mosque. Unlike the grand imperial Timurid and Shaybanid mosques of Samarqand, Ruh Obod Mosque is humbler in scale and ornamentation- however certainly no less beautiful. It was one of the few historic mosques in the old center which still completely functioned as a mosque and was not overrun by tourists and souvenir shops. Praying under the shade of its outdoor columned portico for the noon and afternoon prayers (Peshin & Asr as said in Tajiki Persian) brought me a great sense of calmness, especially during the hot midday temperatures.
Stylistically Ruh Obod mosque is vernacular Central Asian Persianate architecture, as seen widely in modern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The mosque sits on a platform about 1 meter above the ground level and contains an indoor prayer space with a wooden roof supported by four blue wooden columns, the ceiling is ornamented with colorful floral designs and a combination of Kufic and Thulth Arabic inscriptions. The outdoor portion of the mosque similar to the interior it is supported by an array of wooden columns, however the ceiling paintings here are different, and contain an abundance of symbolic motifs, such as swastika symbols (a symbol commonly found in Persian architecture) and Nastaliq Persian poetic inscriptions. On the outside of the mosque stood a freestanding short minaret and several beautiful mulberry trees, of course I tried their delicious white berries (called tuti safed in Tajiki Persian) and I can attest they were among the best I ever ate. I am unsure of the exact history of the mosque, but I’d assume it is from the 18th or 19th century given its scale and heavy use of wood for ceilings instead of brick vaulting, such was typical during the years of the Khanate and Emirate of Bukhara when funds and resources did not allow the construction of grand monuments comparable to those of the Timurid renaissance period.
Below is a collection of photographs I took of the mosque, these images are my intellectual property should not be used without crediting me as the photographer.
