Otaquzi Madrasa

Architecture

The madrasa was paid for by a local merchant, Otaquzi, and built by the masters Kyrgyzboy and Mamajon. Its polygonal plan combines a domed portal, a mosque with a porch, a domed classroom and two storeys of student cells around the courtyard. The builders coaxed remarkable ornament from plain fired brick, with arched, domed corner turrets rising above the walls and muqarnas and crenellated cornices.

The mosque's painted ceiling, where geometric girih and floral patterns intertwine with Quranic verses, is the highlight; the craftsman Saydullo worked on it. Restored in 1971–1975, the building became a local history museum.