The Central Mosque (Ak-Meshit)

The Central Mosque in Shymkent is undoubtedly one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. This stunning white edifice, which now hosts thousands of worshippers, was built in 2013 as a result of an initiative from Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and with the support of the President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The mosque complex includes not only spacious prayer halls for men and women but also a washroom, the imam’s residence, a Muslim café, a religious goods shop, and a boiler room.

The mosque’s exterior is immediately impressive. Despite its vast size, it boasts four towering minarets, and its dome deviates from traditional hemispherical forms, resembling the top of a yurt, crowned by a soaring crescent. Inside, the dome resembles the “shanyrak,” the central part of a yurt, which gleams under the light of hundreds of chandeliers. The building is adorned with white marble, giving the Central Mosque a sense of weightlessness and solemnity. It is perhaps this dazzling whiteness that earned it the name Ak-Meshit (meaning “White Mosque” in Kazakh).

This mosque is a sight to behold, one of those places where words fall short of capturing its grandeur. Moreover, the mosque is open to all visitors, regardless of faith or nationality, with the only requirement being modest, closed attire (applicable to both men and women), along with physical and spiritual cleanliness.