Play of light and shadow under the arcades of the Kok Gumbaz Mosque in Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan. The construction of this large Friday mosque was ordered by Ulugh Beg in honour of his father Shah Rukh, one of Timur‘s sons, and completed around 1437. Inside, the palm trees painted on the walls recall the Indian and Iranian origins of the first architects. The historic centre of Shahrisabz was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000, but has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2016, mainly due to extensive demolition in the historic centre and the deteriorating condition of monuments, including the Kok Gumbaz Mosque.

Credits : E.S.

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Not far from the Hazrat Sultan Mosque, smoke from domestic fires fills a modest street.

In the background, Astana’s modern towers struggle to rise above the haze, a stark image of urban contrasts and heavy air.

Credit: Isabelle Vincent (France)

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Inside the mosque in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan, a town off the beaten tourist track.

Credit: Etienne Bellard (France, @etienneblld)

This photo will be exhibited, along with a selection of other photos of the day, at a special Uzbekistan day organised by the Théâtre de la Ville de Paris on Sunday 25 May 2025. This is a good opportunity to remind you that you can buy some of the photos published by Novastan and have them sent to your home by requesting them here.

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Kazakh pilgrims and tourists of all ages endure a lot of hardship to climb down from the Ustyurt plateau along narrow paths and countless steps to the underground mosque of the Sufi Beket-Ata. In the chalk and limestone desert of the Mangystau region with its impressive rock formations, the sun shines in April against an almost cloudless sky and daytime temperatures often reach over 30 degrees.

Credit: Balzhan & Axel Monse (Germany)

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The Koshkar Ata Mosque is located in the old town of Shymkent. The 19th century building with its fascinating architecture features numerous detailed wooden decorations and ornaments, making it a hidden gem and one of the oldest surviving buildings in the third largest city in Kazakhstan. Between the October Revolution and the end of the Second World War, the mosque was used as a military barracks. It has been a Muslim place of worship again since 1947.

Photo: Balzhan & Axel Monse (Germany)

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A street partly covered by a mosque in the old town of Kashgar in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, which has been left untouched by the heavy restauration of the past decade. Credit: The Editorial Find all of our photos of the day here.

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A mosque, a flag and a surveillance camera in the old town of Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.Credit: Editorial Find all of our photos of the day here.

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In the winding old town of Samarkand there is a small mosque in the Jewish quarter for the coexistence of different religions in a small space. Credit: Justine Paci (France) Find all of our photos of the day here.  

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The colorful door to the garden of the Id Kah Mosque in the center of Kashgar in China. Credit: Editorial staff Find all of our photos of the day here.

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A man is praying alone in Hazrat Sultan Mosque in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. It is the second largest mosque in Central Asia.

Credit: Antoine Beguier (France)

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Interior of a beautiful 16th century mosque and Madrasa in northern Tajikistan.

Credit: Simon Masssicotte

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Directly next to the fortress Gyaur Kala at the edge of Nukus, in western Uzbekistan, there is the cemetery Mizdakhan, which dates back to pre-Islamic times. The mosque, whose ruin can be seen here in the picture, is said to have been built by Adam according to legend. When the last stone falls to the ground, the end of the world is said to have come – so believers pile up the stones to towers again to delay the end of the world even further.

Credit: Simon Kretschmer (Germany)

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Interior of a beautiful 16th century mosque in northern Tajikistan.

Credit: Simon Massicotte

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