Ozbek Han Mosque
Encyclopedia
The Ozbek Han Mosque is located in Staryi Krym
Staryi Krym
Staryi Krym is a small historical town in the Eastern Crimea, approximately 25 km west of Theodosia. The population of Staryi Krym in 2001 was 9,960 people.-History:...

, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

. The Ozbek Han Mosque is the oldest mosque in Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...

, built during the reign of Uzbeg Khan
Uzbeg Khan
Sultan Mohammed Öz-Beg, better known as Uzbeg or Ozbeg , was the longest-reigning khan of the Golden Horde, under whose rule the state reached its zenith...

 in 1314.

History

Until the 14th century Staryi Krym
Staryi Krym
Staryi Krym is a small historical town in the Eastern Crimea, approximately 25 km west of Theodosia. The population of Staryi Krym in 2001 was 9,960 people.-History:...

 was known as Solkhat, a prospering city during the reign of the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

. Early Crimean Khans had their capital in Solkhat until the first part of the 16th century, when the capital was moved to Bakhchisaray
Bakhchisaray
Bakhchisaray is a town in Central Crimea, centre of the Bakhchisaray raion , best known as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate...

, and Solkhat gradually lost its importance as a cultural and economic center.
The Ozbek Han Mosque was built in 1314 and the madrasah
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...

, adjacent to the southern wall of the mosque, was built by Inci Hatun, daughter of Kilburun Bey, in 1332. Only the ruins of the madrasah remain today. The mosque has a square floor plan, which reveals architectural features similar to those found in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

 during the Seljuk period. A unique feature of the mosque is its monumental entrance with a carved wooden door.

Today, Staryi Krym has a small but devoted Crimean Tatar
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...

population, and the Ozbek Han Mosque is once again functioning as a place of worship.
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