The Talkhatan Baba Mosque

The Talkhatan Baba Mosque is located in an ancient cemetery on the road from Mary to Bayram-Ali, 35 kilometers from Sultan-Kala and dates back to the 11th century. Its value lies in the good preservation of the monument. There is no inscription on the mosque, which is one of the most important works of the Karakhanid period and constitutes the origin of Turkish-Islamic Art in terms of plan. In the light of the examinations and aerial photographs in the area where the building is located, it is seen that there are remains and traces of other buildings in the area.

V.A. Zhukovsky gave the first scientific description of the mosque in the 1890s. In the 1950s, the architect A.M. Pribytkova surveyed it in detail. The mosque is a slightly elongated structure 18 by 10 meters with a domed space of a mihrab and two wings on the sides. The wings are covered with balkhi vaults.

Two burials are located outside the building in front of the wide arch of the eastern facade. It is unknown whom these graves belong to. This monument amazes with the ingenuity of the master in choosing a pattern for ornamental masonry from fired square and figured bricks.

The lancet niche of the mihrab is inscribed in a rectangular frame made in the same ornamental masonry as the tier of the sails. According to the composition, it is a regular rectangle without any canopies, domes or columns, but three arches frame the main facade at once. The middle arch is the widest. It corresponds to the central part of the building. The two smaller ones on either side of it are lateral. Thus, it seems that arches into three sections divide the mosque. Ornamentation of the walls and the uniformity of the external and internal decor, created with the use of burnt bricks.

The deformations that occurred on the northern end wall made it necessary to make preservation, roughly executed buttresses. The preservation of the interior and the western facade, which consists of a clear rhythm of four magnificent panels with pointed arches on round columns, is excellent. All walls and arches are masterly lined with ornamentation of paired bricks with bows, diagonal crosses, "3" -shaped inserts, etc. Moreover, the pattern of ornamental masonry in the tympanum of each arch is not repeated.

For some unknown reason, the Mongols did not destroy Dalgatan, as historians and geographers of those times call this city. The mausoleum of Talkhatan Baba, a masterpiece of Seljuk architecture, impresses with its balance and harmony of proportions, the skill of brickwork, brought to virtuosity.