The most important sight of the Republic of Tatarstan is the Kul Sharif mosque in Kazan. It is located on the territory of the historical and architectural and art museum-reserve "Kazan Kremlin".
History of the mosque Kul Sharif
In the 16th century, the capital of the Kazan Khanate was engulfed by fires and battles, opposing the troops of Ivan the Terrible. All the defenders of the Kazan Kremlin fell in battle, including Imam Seid Kul-Sharif, who was the leader of the defense of Kazan and fought to the last. He died in October 1552 with his army. In honor of him, the mosque was named.
However, the construction of the legendary mosque began almost four centuries later in 1996 and continued until 2005. It completely recreates the mosque of the Kazan Khanate, destroyed by the army of Ivan the Terrible during the assault of Kazan. Its erection was decided to be carried out at the site of the death of the Imam Kul Sharif.
The Kul Sharif mosque is the center of the pilgrimage of the Tatars from all over the world. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Architecture of the Kul Sharif Mosque
Architects Latypov Sh.KH., Safronov MV, Sattarov AG, Saifullin IF tried to return the rich decoration, beauty and grandeur of the temple. The construction of the temple was carried out for a donation, and all was spent about 400 million rubles. At the same time, more than 40 thousand people and organizations contributed donations. In the main hall are stored books, in which all those who donated for the construction were recorded.
At the mosque of Kul Sharif two platforms:
- lower: for ritual events;
- upper: for museum and excursion activities.
The building itself is represented as two squares at an angle of 45 degrees, because the squares in the Muslim religion mean "the blessing of Allah."
The walls are made in the form of eight pointed arches, on which are carved in the marble ayats from the Koran and ornamental pigtails. Panoramic windows are filled with colored stained glass windows. Eight-beam space, formed in accordance with the architectural plan, covers the eight-roof. The center overlaps the dome at a height of 36 meters, on which windows are cut in the form of tulips. The dome is associated with the details of the "Kazan Cap".
The mosque has four minarets with a height of 58 meters.
Kul Sharif consists of 5 floors, including the technical and ground floor, as well as intermediate level sites. On the first three floors are located:
- group of premises of the Imam;
- prayer hall;
- balcony-gallery for the female population.
On the ground floor:
- women's distribution hall;
- premises for ablution;
- wardrobe;
- Museum of Islam.
All premises of the mosque are zoned for "male" and female "streams with separate entrance groups.
The decoration and interior decoration were recreated by analogy to the 16th century mosque:
- ceramic panels;
- Roman mosaic;
- gilt work, gold embroidery;
- facing the facade of the building with granite and marble, which was brought from the Urals;
- Persian carpets, donated by the Iranian government;
- Chandelier made of crystal diameter of five meters, made to order in the Czech Republic.
The grand opening of the mosque was timed to coincide with the 1000th anniversary of the city of Kazan and was held on June 24, 2005.
The Kazan mosque of Kul Sharif is the largest mosque in the territory of the Russian Federation and the citizens of the city can rightly be proud of it, as the Turks are proud of the Topkapi Mosque .
The Kul Sharif mosque has the following address: Kazan city, Kremlin street, house 13.
Kul Sharif Mosque: Opening hours - every day from 8.00 to 19.30 without lunch break.
When visiting the Kul Sharif mosque in Kazan, do not forget about the rules of behavior and respect for others.
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