The first spring album will be devoted to the object that is very difficult to photograph in summer because of the trees it is surrounded by. It is the only St. Petersburg mosque, located not far from Gorkovskaya metro station.
The mosque was founded in 1910 and was meant to commemorate the 25-th anniversary of the rule of Abdul Ahat Khan, Emir of Bukhara (Turkistan.) Back then, the Muslim community of St. Petersburg consisted of around 8 thousand people.
The mosque was built after the project of N. V. Vassiliev which was chosen out of the 45 design projects presented for the contest. A. I. von Gogen and S.S. Krichinsky collaborated with Vassiliev on the project.
The project was inspired by the style of mosques and tombs of Tamerlan's Central Asia.
"I know, I believe with all my heart and I confirm with my words that
there is no deity, except the Only Creator Allah."
Thank you, Ancient, for translating this inscription (as well as the next one.)
but. there is another version of translation:
"(3:96) Behold, the first House (of Prayer) established for mankind is the
one at Bakkah: it is full of blessing and a centre of guidance for the whole world."
Inscriptions in Arabic always look very harmonious and effectively blend with different shapes.
The reason is probably that the Arabs have 4 different patterns for each out of 30 letters of the alphabet, depending on where the letter is placed - in the beginning, the middle, the end of the word, or separately.
The height of the mosque's minarets is 48 meters; the main dome tower is 39 meters high. The length of the mosque is 45 meters, its width is 32 meters. The building can accommodate up to 5000 people.
Mosque bulding was going since 1910 till
1918..1921. (but, it was officially unveiled in 1913, when first pray
was served).
Regular public worships was started in Soviet times, in
1920.
All services in the mosque were terminated in 1940, and the building was used as a medical equipment storehouse.
The services resumed in 1956. The building has been managed by the Muslim Religious Society since then.
The hall for men is located on the first floor of the mosque, women pray in the hall on the second floor. The classrooms of the Sunday school, where the classes of Islam, the Arabic and Tatar languages are taught, are situated on the third floor.
""I know, I believe with all my heart and I confirm with my words that Mohammed is Allah's slave and His ultimate messenger.""
A decision to restore the mosque was made in 1980, and the restoration works are almost completed now.
I would also like to draw your attention to a new album from the "We have guests" series. Introduced by Igor Vanin, it gives us an opportunity to get acquainted with the Leningrad/St. Petersburg's
underground (metro).
