Chor-Minor Madrassah

Chor-Minor Madrassah 

Madrasah Khalifa Niyazkul  “Four minarets” was built by khalifa Khudoyd in 1807 in Bukhara. The entrance to the madrassah resembles the buildings with four towers, similar to minarets, hence the name Chor-Minor. The building is located on the open area behind Lyabi-Khauz. The construction of Chor-Minor is very unusual, so sometimes Chor-Minor is considered only as a gate to a lost madrassah. However, if you look closely, you can see that Chor-Minor, even in its present state, is a self-contained complex consisting of buildings that have at least two purposes – ritual and residential. The main building with towers is a mosque. Despite its unusual exterior design, the mosque has a fairly ordinary interior. Here, ritual ceremonies were often held, which included recitation, singing and instrumental music. Also, living rooms were added to the side walls of the central building. Thus, for the functioning of the madrassah, only the classroom is not enough – “darskhona” and some business premises, such as the dining room – “oshkhona.” But in Bukhara there were no so-called classrooms, and even if they were, there still were no classes. Such madrassas were used as student dormitories. Each of the four minarets has a different shape and design. In some elements, one can see something resembling a cross, Christian fish and Buddhist prayer wheels. There is an opinion that the decoration in this way reflects the religious and philosophical comprehension of the four world religions.