Kukeldash Madrasah, Tashkent

The madrasah was built in the second half of the 16th century, around the 1560s–1570s, when Tashkent was ruled by a branch of the Shaybanid dynasty. Its founder is traditionally identified as Kulbaba Kukeldash, a vizier of the Shaybanid court; kukeldash is a title meaning “foster brother” of the ruler. A madrasah of the same name, built by the same patron, stands at Lyabi-Hauz in Bukhara.

The building had a turbulent life. In the 18th century, when Tashkent was divided between rival rulers and tribal leaders, it was used as a caravanserai for merchants. In the 19th century, under the Kokand khanate, it served as a fortress, and according to tradition, public executions took place from its portal, with condemned people thrown from the top. Earthquakes in the 19th century and the great earthquake of 1966 damaged it badly, and it has been restored several times.

The madrasah is a large rectangle of baked brick around a courtyard, with student cells (hujra) on two floors and domed halls at the corners. Its most striking feature is the high portal on the south side, facing the square, flanked by corner towers. The portal was once covered with glazed tiles and mosaic; much of the decoration was lost and only partly restored, so the building looks more austere than the madrasahs of Samarkand or Bukhara. Its massive brick walls and its position on a hill give it a fortress-like appearance, which explains its later military use.

Inside, the quiet courtyard with trees is a contrast to the noise of the bazaar outside.

In the late 20th century the madrasah reopened as a religious school, and it still functions as one. Visitors can usually enter the courtyard outside prayer times, but some areas are reserved for students. Dress modestly and behave respectfully.

Beside the madrasah stands the Juma mosque of Tashkent, the city’s old Friday mosque, founded in the 15th century and rebuilt several times, most recently in the 1990s. Together with the madrasah and the bazaar, it forms the historic heart of old Tashkent.

Location: on the hill above Chorsu bazaar, in the old town of Tashkent.

Metro: Chorsu station, a few minutes’ walk. See the Tashkent metro.

Tickets: usually free; donations are welcome.

Time needed: 20–30 minutes.

Etiquette: modest dress; women should bring a scarf. Avoid Friday midday prayers.

Tips: visit before or after the bazaar, in the morning. From the steps in front of the portal there is a good view over the dome of Chorsu. Continue on foot or by taxi to the Khast Imam complex to see the Uthman Quran.

Before the Russian conquest of 1865, Tashkent was a walled city of mud-brick houses, mosques and bazaars, one of the largest trading cities of Central Asia, contested between the khanate of Kokand and the emirate of Bukhara. The Kukeldash madrasah, on its high ground near the central bazaar, was one of the city’s strongpoints and a symbol of power.

Tashkent was devastated by the 1966 earthquake, which destroyed much of the old town of mud-brick houses, and the city was rebuilt as a Soviet capital of wide avenues and concrete blocks. The area around Chorsu, Kukeldash and Khast Imam is where the remains of the pre-Russian city are most visible: a few historic monuments and some lanes of traditional single-storey houses with courtyards. A walk between the bazaar and Khast Imam gives a glimpse of this older city, which differs completely from the modern centre around Amir Timur Square.