Devona Buva Mausoleum

History and architecture

The mausoleum was built in 1725–1750 over the grave of Abdurahmon Khoji, a native of Tashkent who settled in the village of Fayziobod. One of the few literate people in the area, he taught children to read and write, practised medicine and knew his healing herbs. Legend says he earned the name Devona Buva — 'holy-fool grandfather' — because he arrived in rags: when his travelling companion, a dervish, fell into a full canal and was soaked, Abdurahmon gave him his own clothes and put on the dervish's tatters. In Soviet times the collective-farm chairman hid the mausoleum behind office buildings, which is why it survived so well. The square building, 18.8 metres a side, is enclosed by a thick wall and comprises a pilgrims' hall, a tomb chamber and a portal; its dome rests on a star-shaped base, and the interior is decorated with carved ganch.