The Märcani Mosque (pronounced ; ; formerly ''Äfände'', i.e. ''Seigniorial'', ''The First Cathedral Mosque'', ''The Yunısovs' Mosque''), also spelled ''al-Marjani'', ''Mardjani'' and ''Mardzhani'' () is a mosque in

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, built in 1766-1770 by

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

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

History

After several decades of persecution of the Muslims in

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

the Märcani Mosque was the first mosque built in

under Russian rule. It is the oldest active mosque in

Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...

and the only mosque in Kazan that evaded closure during the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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 religio ...

. 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 (; ) are a system of lakes in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia that includes Nizhny (Blizhny) Kaban, Verkhny Kaban, and Sredny Kaban. They make up Tatarstan's largest lake, measuring 1.86 square kilometers (0.72 square miles) in ...

. 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'' (, ', 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'' wall". ...

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 is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

. 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 Şihabetdin Märcani (, Tatar alphabet#Cyrillic version, Cyrillic: , ; 1818–1889) was a Volga Tatars, Tatar Hanafi Maturidi theologian and historian. He studied in madrassas of Tashkichu (near Kazan), Bukhara and Samarkand. Beginning in 1850 h ...

who worked there as

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

in the mid 19th century.

References

*
Märcani mosque on "Russian mosques"
Mosques in Kazan Religious buildings and structures completed in 1770 Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Tatarstan {{Russia-mosque-stub

History

See also

References