Tillya Sheikh Mosque

History and appearance

The mosque was paid for by Tillya Sheikh, a pious Tashkent merchant; sources differ on its date, most often giving 1890–1902. The Russian imperial authorities closed it soon after it opened. Closed again in the 1930s and turned into a craftsmen's cooperative, it was one of the first to reopen in the mid-1940s, after a Muslim spiritual administration was permitted. Master Shirin Muradov restored it in 1955–1963, and a new prayer hall was added on the qibla side in 1972–1973.

Outside it is restrained — rectangular, domed, with two small minarets and an entrance porch of three arches — but the space beneath the dome is covered in carved ganch plaster and floral ornament.