The Märcani Mosque (pronounced ;

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

: (әл-)Мәрҗани мәчете; formerly ''Äfände'', i.e. ''Seigniorial'', ''The First Cathedral Mosque'', ''The Yunısovs' Mosque''), also spelled ''al-Marjani'', ''Mardjani'' and ''Mardzhani'' (russian: Мечеть (аль-)Марджани́) is a mosque in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, built in 1766-1770 by

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

's authority and on the city's population's donations.

History

After several decades of persecution of the Muslims in

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

the Märcani Mosque was the first mosque built in

under Russian rule. It is the oldest active mosque in Tatarstan and the only mosque in Kazan that evaded closure during the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

period. The mosque was built in traditions of the Tatar medieval architecture combined with ''provincial baroque'' style, and it represents a typical

Tatar mosque A Tatar mosque is a mosque with a minaret on the roof, a type of mosque that is ubiquitous among Muslim Tatars and Bashkirs in Tatarstan and other Volga Tatar-populated areas. Occasionally found in other regions of Russia, modern Tatar religious ...

. It is believed that the architect was Vasily Kaftyrev. The mosque is situated in the Old Tatar Quarter (İske Tatar Bistäse) of Kazan at the bank of the lake

Qaban The Kaban Lakes ( tt-Cyrl, Кабан күле; ) are a system of lakes in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia that includes Nizhny (Blizhny) Kaban, Verkhny Kaban, and Sredny Kaban. With a combined area of , they comprise the biggest lake in Tatar ...

. Märcani Mosque is two-storied and has two halls. The interior is designed in ''The Petersburg Baroque'' style. In 1861 merchant İ. Ğ. Yunısov donated the addition of stairs, and in 1863 he donated the extension of

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

and the breaching of new window. In that period the mosque was called Yunısovs' mosque after his family. In 1885 merchant Z. Ğosmanov donated the renovation of the

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

. In 1887 merchants W. Ğizzätullin and M. Wälişin added the tracery balcony to the minaret. The mosque is currently named after Tatar scholar Şihabetdin Märcani who worked there as

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

in the mid 19th century.

References

*
Märcani mosque on "Russian mosques"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcani Mosque Mosques in Kazan Religious buildings and structures completed in 1770 Mosques in Russia Mosques in Europe Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Tatarstan

History

See also

References