Khast Imam Complex (Hazrati Imam)

The Khast Imam Complex, also called Hazrati Imam, is the spiritual heart of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, located on Zarqaynar Street in the Hazrati Imom mahalla of the Olmazor District. The complex centres on a pedestrian square framed by religious buildings from several centuries. The 16th-century Barak Khan Madrasa, with its tiled facade and craft shops in former student cells, stands on one side, and the Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum, honouring a 10th-century scholar and jurist, sits nearby. The large, turquoise-domed Tilla Sheikh Mosque, a 19th-century congregational mosque, still serves as a place of worship, and the Muyi Muborak Library Museum, home of the 7th-century Uthman Quran, completes the ensemble. Newer additions in recent decades, including the Hazrati Imam Mosque with its tall minarets, give the square a unified, monumental look. Visitors typically spend 1.5 to 2 hours walking the courtyards, entering the museum, browsing the craft stalls and photographing the tiled domes and arched portals. The courtyards are free to enter, while the museum charges a modest ticket. Early morning and late afternoon bring the softest light and the fewest tour groups; midday coaches fill the square, and the area is busiest on Fridays around the noon prayer, when non-worshippers should avoid the mosque interiors. Modest dress is expected, with covered shoulders and knees, and women may be asked to cover their hair when entering active prayer spaces. The best photographic angles are from the centre of the square looking toward the domes and from the shaded arcade of the Barak Khan Madrasa. Taxis from Chorsu take roughly 8 to 10 minutes, and ride-hailing apps are the simplest way to arrive and depart.