MIT Libraries homeDome

The masjid-i jami or congregational mosque of Khiva is a vast, one-storied mosque with a tall brick minaret. Its simplicity of form and construction, such as the lack of portals, cupolas, galleries and courtyards distinguish it from the typical open-court mosques of Central Asia. The mosque's modest elevation and plain brick walls render its northern facade inconspicuous on the primary east-west street across the Ichan-Kala, or the Inner Fortress. Portions of the mosque are traced back to the tenth century, but Muhammad Amin-Inakh (1763-91) reconstructed most of the current structure and minaret in 1788-89, on the site of the smaller old mosque. Souce: Archnetinterior, hypostyle hall, 1997