Hazret-Hyzr Mosque, Samarkand

Hazret-Hyzr Mosque, Samarkand

The mosque named after Hazret-Hyzr, an Islamic saint and eternal wanderer, stands on the southern slope of the Afrasiab hill, at the crossroads beside the central bazaar. A legend says that Hazret-Hyzr helped the patron of Samarkand, Kusam ibn Abbas, to escape and become immortal.

Once there was a heathen temple here in which idols were worshipped in the first years of Islam. The temple was converted into a mosque. Hazret-Hyzr was esteemed as a saint, bringing good luck and wealth in far away voyages and trade. Today's mosque was built on medieval foundations in 1854. Carved ganch and coloured paintings on the ceiling decorate the interior.