Kosonsoy Friday Mosque

History and architecture

The Kosonsoy Friday Mosque is regarded as an 18th-century monument, though some sources say building began in the 17th century. It stands in a walled courtyard, entered either through a domed portal on the south side or by a carved door on the west that leads into the rectangular prayer hall. The west wall holds a three-niche mihrab. The outer dome rests on four arches springing from the corners, which are in turn carried on wooden columns. The decoration is mainly in two colours, white and blue; the portal is simple but elegant, with a row of small arches and a cornice along the top. In Soviet times the mosque served first as a warehouse and then as a school; it reopened as a mosque in 1991, and an iwan and extra buildings were added in 1993.