A Sight of Architectural Wonder — "Supersized Chopsticks" at the Bolo Hauz Mosque of Bukhara

The Bolo Hauz Mosque was built in 1712. This was where the Emir would head over from the Ark on a red-carpet-laid path on every Friday for his Friday prayers. Its resemblance to the Djome Mosque at the Ark is certainly no accident, as these two structures were indeed contemporaneous with each other.

The Bolo Hauz Mosque was the only historic structure that survived the onslaught of the early Soviet rule in this part of Bukhara. All other historic structures in this area of town were destroyed in the early 20th century. During the Soviet rule, the Bolo Hauz Mosque was a working men’s club.

The most eye-catching aspects of the Bolo Hauz Mosque are the super tall, and seemingly thin pillars that support its enormous and decorated high wooden eaves. Sophie Ibbotson says that those “12m-high pillars, 20 in all, that support the aivan are so slim that they look like super-sized chopsticks” and I agree with her completely. They are “made from elm, poplar and walnut wood.” (Sophie Ibbotson). The 20 pillars show varying sets of patterns in their carved adornment at the bottom, and also varying stalactites at the top parts that support the eaves.

There is also a minaret right by the Bolo Hauz Mosque, completing the whole layout for a religious structure in Uzbekistan.




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Post by Helen Yu (Chestnut Journal) | Feb 26, 2025