Green Mosque, Balkh
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The Green Mosque (
Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
: شنه جومات ; ), or the Mosque of Khawaja Abu Nasr Parsa (
Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
; د خواجه ابو نصر پارسا جومات) is a
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
in the city of
Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...
, northern
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. It contains the Shrine of Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa. The mosque's name is derived from the kashi tiles on the walls of the mosque, which are coloured
turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue. The robi ...
, known locally as Turkish Green.


History

The original building was constructed by the Timurid general Mir Mazid Arghun over the grave of Khawaja Abu Nasr Parsa, a local religious teacher and mystic of the
Naqshbandi Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophet ...
order. Later on, Arghun's father and brother were buried there. Arghun also constructed a madrasah next to the mosque. The mosque, shrine and madrasah complex was then put under the management of the descendants of Abu Nasr Parsa. The Shaybanid governor of Balkh, Abdul-Mo'min bin Abdullah Khan, later renovated the building in the late 16th century, inscribing his name on one of the walls as well. The mosque suffered severe damage during the Soviet-Afghan War, and it fell into massive disrepair. In 2022, an explosion inside the mosque caused the destruction of some parts of the mosque as well.


Architecture

The main building displays a typical Timurid architectural style. The mosque has a very large dome and two minarets. Eight openings allow light to enter the dome, but some of them have cracked, revealing the inner structure of the dome. The dome has a base of muqarnas and the bottom part is covered with floral designs and ceramic tiles. The bi-level porches flanking the portal are topped with two minarets. There are stairs in each corner of the porch which allow access to the top level, letting one go to the minarets and the roof. The minarets are damaged and only the base and stumps of them remain. A small wooden door leads from the northeastern
iwan An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...
into the dome chamber, crowned by a tall umbrella vault. There are sixteen windows placed at the rim of the vault, which assist in illuminating the interior. The dome chamber has a small mihrab niche on the southwest wall as well. There is a crypt located directly below the dome chamber. A tomb was found in the crypt, and it is suggested that the tomb belongs to Abu Nasr Parsa. A column was added later to support the crown of the crypt vault. Outside the mosque, there is a stone platform with tombstones of other saints. This was a later addition and unlikely to have been part of the original structure.


Gallery

File:Balkh mosque from afar.jpg, The Green Mosque of Balkh Balkh mosque entrance arch.jpg, One of the main entrances to the complex Balkh mosque entrance.jpg, Closeup of the entrance to the building Balkh mosque entrance 2.jpg, A closeup shot of the exterior of the building


See also

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Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...


References

{{coord missing, Afghanistan Buildings and structures completed in 1421 Mosques completed in the 1420s Mosques in Afghanistan Buildings and structures in Balkh Province Balkh