Mashad-ata is one of the most unique architectural monuments remaining from Turkmenistan’s medieval history. Located in the middle of the desert, surrounded by sand dunes, the unique mosque stands isolated and majestic. The Mashad-ata mosque is a part of the State Historical and Cultural Park «Ancient Dekhistan,» located on the territory of Etrek area of the Balkan region, 25 km to the north of Madaw village and almost 7 km from the ancient urban center Misrian.
The monument is visible from far away: it was erected on a powerful platform which towers above its surroundings, distinguishable among the nearby medieval mausoleums not only by its excellent preservation,
but also by its monumentalism and perfection of form. This monument also appears in many books
and tourist guides under the name of Shir-Kabir.
However, local old residents remember that this name applied to quite a different monument, located in the
northern suburb of Misrian, that had been destroyed in the 1940s. That was a suburban mosque-namazgah
(musalla) whose image has remained only in old photos. Now, it is possible to see just a small hill and a
scattering of beaten bricks in its place. Mashad-Ata has stood for more than a thousand years at the centre
of an ancient necropolis, for a whole century drawing the attention of architecture historians, art critics, tourists and pilgrims, who come to this deserted place to see a masterpiece of the Islamic art of 9th -10th centuries which, in the unanimous opinion of experts, is the magniicent mihrab inside this graceful building.
Mashad-Ata is the oldest preserved mosque in Turkmenistan. An anonymous 10th century narrative
«Khudud-al-Alem» said that the Sui shaikh Ali bin Sukkari was buried near Dekhistan, most likely
in the Mashad-ata necropolis. Important evidence is also found in the works of al-Makdisi, an Arabian geographer who lived in the 10th century. His book contain information about the ancient Dekhistan civilization, naming the urban of Dekhistan «Rabat» (ar-Rabat is a word of Arabian origin that frequently
means «city-fortress»). Together with praise for the city’s cleanliness, beautiful mosques, comfortable
dwellings and well-planned streets, he talks about an old mosque located outside ar-Rabat, in a place similar
to Dandanakan (a small medieval town in the neighborhood of Merv). Al-Makdisi describes the well-known mosque nearly as it currently stands, surrounded on all four sides by arched iwan based on wooden columns.
For many centuries the mosque of Mashat-ata underwent repairs and reconstruction. Originally the
building was built of mud bricks while ired brick was applied on the outer layer. These bricks, together with
the splendid interior ornamentations and mihrab, serve as one of the basic means of establishing the date
of monument.
The square hall of the Mashad-ata domed mosque, with walls about 1.5m thick represents a structure
referring to the ancient architectural type of chartak: inside, each wall has three high lancet niches, some
of which originally had apertures. The middle niche on the southern side is remarkable for its well-known
mihrab with a magniicent revetment of carved alabaster. It is the most effective part of the building preserved from the 10th century: three lancet niches entered each other were once covered completely with a qanch fretwork in the shape of a combination of stylized vegetable and geometrical ornaments and Arabian Kufi inscriptions.
In the 12th century a square domed hall of fired brick was attached to the northeast corner of Mashad-
-ata. In the 17th – 18th centuries the main building was completely faced with burnt brick and the dilapidated
dome was rebuilt. Though this strengthening was not done by professional masters, their noble efforts
helped keep this monument standing.
Since 1991 the State Historical and Cultural Park «Ancient Dekhistan,» has continued to protect, research and preserve the monuments of the Balkan region. By the time the Park was created, the state of Mashad-ata had once again became critical: structural fractures in the dome and underdome drum arose, the external corners of tetrahedron were partially destroyed, the facing crumbled in many sectors. Urgent measures have removed the threat of the monument’s destruction, but many more problems with its further preservation remained.
Due to these major structural problems, in 2008 the National Department for the Protection, Research and Restorations of Historical and Cultural Monuments under the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan started the complex project of restoration of Mashad-ata mosque. It has allowed a small group of restorers to solve many complicated engineering-design and art-decorative problems. The mosque’s dome (that was in danger for quite some time) was disassembled and then reassembled and stabilized, overlapping gullies that allowed precipitation to enter the hall and slowly destroy the building and its decoration have been removed. Walls were covered with a new layer of plaster, and, most importantly, some lost parts of the mihrab were restored.
While this project was carried out, some important archaeological discoveries were made as well. Within the period of two seasons (spring and autumn of 2009), Dr. Davron Abdulloev, an archeologist from St. Petersburg, excavated an architectural complex adjoining the mosque, that consisted of a group of rooms around a small courtyard. Brick columns of an iwan that once existed here were found along the mosque’s east facade; the iwan possibly replaced the initial wooden colonnade that encircledthe building. Almost at the centre of a courtyard paved with hexagonal tiles there was a small pool – khauz. Also, excavators uncovered the foundation of a previously unknown minaret at the northeast corner of complex.
All this points to the fact that a Suаi monastery, or khanqah, was located here; this is where Suаi monks
formed a local religious community and lived in the 11th-12th centuries. Their numerous household articles
– from heavy millstones to bronze lamp-stands, pottery and glass phials for aromas – have formed a collection of archeological inds. Researchers are now seeing a fuller picture of this ancient religious complex, whose architecture relects various historical periods.
Today Mashad-ata is not only a rare architectural object that attracts for tourists and antiquity-lovers
from different countries, but also a real object of worship, to which Muslim pilgrims come to pray and
worship.
Source: article by R. Muradov