Id Kah Mosque

Located in the center of the old city of Kashgar, aitigar mosque is one of the largest mosques in China. There are many magnificent and Islamic buildings in the temple, which can be visited one by one. When you witness the worship five times a day outside the temple, you can see the grand scale of the worship and feel the strong religious atmosphere.

Etiga'er mosque is a courtyard style temple. At the east gate of the temple is the huge etiga'er square, which is the landmark of Kashgar City. At ordinary times, there are many people playing in the square. The bearded grandfather and the Uyghur children sit around the square and bask in the sun. It's very relaxing and the scene is very peaceful.

On the west side of the square is the east gate of the mosque, which is the main gate of the mosque. The main gate is a goose yellow building, next to which are two minarets. The arc-shaped shape is soft and quiet. On the gate of the temple is a huge plaque with Arabic words. Many tourists will take photos here.

After entering the mosque from the east gate, you can enjoy the courtyard of the mosque. The courtyard has a large area, more than 100 meters vertically and horizontally, and many trees are planted, making the whole mosque under the green shade. It is a rare fresh and comfortable place in dry Kashgar. There are more than ten buildings in the courtyard, such as chapel, lecture hall, gongbeizi and so on. The main color is green, and each one has Islamic style. There is also a pool of flowers and trees in the middle. The most important building to visit is the chapel, which is located in the deepest part of the temple. The chapel is more than 100 meters long and is mainly green. It is supported by more than 100 seven meter high green pillars. Rows of cushions inside are the places for Muslims to worship. Walking into the inner hall, you can see that there are no portraits inside, which also reflects the characteristics of Islam that does not do personal worship. After a tour of the temple, you can return to the east gate and leave.

In addition to seeing the buildings in the temple, the most important thing is to witness the grand worship scene. Every day, there are five times of worship in aitigar temple. The temple is not open during the worship, but it can be witnessed outside the temple. Before every worship, the temple broadcast the sound of chanting sutras, which is far away and ethereal. After that, there will be two or three thousand people worshiping in the temple. If the temple can't accommodate them, there will be many people performing rituals beside the temple and in the square. The scene was grand and quiet, which shocked people's soul. Every Friday is the main day of Islam. The number of worshippers here will reach 6000, 7000 or even 10000. The scene is very spectacular.

In addition, every year, tens of thousands of Muslim compatriots sing and dance here to celebrate the Islamic traditional festivals, such as Qurban day and Eid al Fitr. If it happens, we must witness it.

Id Kah Mosque

Aitigar mosque (Uyghur: ھيتگاھمسچى h é ytgah meschit) is also translated as "aitigar" and "aitikar". Located on the west side of etiga'er square in Kashgar City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, it was built in 1442. It is 140 meters long from north to South and 120 meters wide from east to west, covering a total area of 16800 square meters. It is divided into seven parts: main hall, outer hall, Scripture hall, courtyard, gongbaizi, minaret and gate. It is not only the largest mosque in Xinjiang, but also the largest mosque in Xinjiang One of the largest mosques in the country. It has a certain influence in the religious circles at home and abroad, and is a key cultural relic protection unit in the autonomous region.

Historical evolution

background

It used to be the cemetery of Islamic missionaries left by Arab general tridebo Ibn Muslim who conquered Central Asia. In the Ming Dynasty (1436-1449), the ruler of Kashgar, shakesezi, was buried here after Mirza. His descendants built a small mosque, which is the predecessor of aitigar mosque.

Initial construction

In 1442, shahkesezi Mirza, king of Kashgar, first established a mosque here. During the reign of Sayid Ali, a dugrat family in the Khanate of East Chagatai, in Kashgar (1435-1457). At that time, the site of the temple was still a reed beach outside the city. The eldest son of saiyide and Ali, sannis Mirza (the father of Sultan ababakri of Kashgar Khanate), first built a small mosque on the site of the inner hall of today's chapel.

Renovation and reconstruction

In 1538, the ruler of Kashgar, Uli adibak, expanded the temple in memory of his late uncle. In the 16th century, the monarch of Yeerqiang Khanate expanded it into a great mosque which can be used as the master of Ma RI worship. In 1798, gurirena, a Uighur Muslim woman from Yingjisha, died in Kashgar on her way to bakistan. People used her travel expenses to expand the mosque and build it It's called etiga. Later, Zhuoli piahan, a Uygur rich woman, donated money to expand the temple and purchased 600 mu of land as temple property.

In the first half of the 16th century, the Kashgar ruling authorities of Yeerqiang Khanate expanded the temple into a great mosque for worshiping Mabai.

In 1787, Zulu peiyehainim, the female landlord of hannanlike Township in Shule County, expanded the temple again, and purchased thousands of mu of land in pahetakeli village in the southern suburb of Kashgar City to donate it to the temple as "wahefu" real estate.

In 1798, gurirena, a Uighur female Muslim from Yingjisha, died in Kashgar on her way to Pakistan. The temple was expanded and named aitigar. Later, a Uygur woman named zhuolipia Khan donated money for expansion and purchased about 600 mu of land for temple property.

In 1809, Iskandar, aqimoburk (official name), Kashgar, expanded the temple, added Gongbei gate, and excavated artificial lake and canal in the courtyard.

During the expansion of Kashgar City in the reign of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty (1821-1850), the aitigar mosque, which was always outside the city, was included in the city. At the same time, it was comprehensively repaired and expanded, planted various trees and beautified the environment.

In 1872, the Haohan invader Agubo ordered a large-scale expansion of the temple. In addition to the addition of temple rooms, warm rooms, bathhouses, minarets, and artificial lakes, the temple gate and worship hall have been reconstructed, and the layout of the whole temple has been re planned, making it square and of today's scale.

On June 25, 2001, as an ancient building of the Ming Dynasty, the aitigar mosque was approved by the State Council to be listed in the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Scale system

Aitigar mosque, also translated as "aitigar" and "aitikar", covers an area of 25.22 mu. It is 140 meters long from north to South and 120 meters wide from east to west, covering a total area of 16800 square meters. It is divided into seven parts: "main hall", "outer hall", "Jiaojing hall", "courtyard", "gongbaizi", "Xuanli tower" and "gate".

Architectural features

architectural style

Etiga'er mosque is an ancient Islamic building complex with strong national style and religious color. It faces east from the West.

Main buildings

The gate tower of aitigar mosque is facing aitigar square. The gate of sky blue temple is 4.3 meters wide and 4.7 meters high. There are short walls on both sides of the gate. There are 12.5 meters high brick columns on both sides of the gate. The bottom is thick and the top is thin. At the top, there are another tower (bunk tower, which is used for calling Muslims to pray).

The entrance to the temple is an octagonal hall with a 20 mu garden and a row of 18 Scripture halls on both sides. It is a place for Imam to teach and religious students to learn scriptures. There are two pools in the park, surrounded by towering white poplar and luxuriant mulberry and elm. Although it lives in the downtown center, it is particularly quiet and elegant.

The worship hall is located in a large courtyard separated by a fence wall at the west end of the temple. The hall of worship is divided into three parts: the inner hall, the outer hall and the entrance of the hall, all of which are on the platform more than one meter above the ground; the total length of the north and south is 140 meters, and the depth from east to west is 19 meters. Such a large-scale Hall of worship "is not only unique in China, but also extremely rare in the world." (Islamic architecture in China, P. 164). There are 140 green carved wooden columns with a height of 7 meters in the outer hall, which are arranged in a grid shape, supporting the white ribbed canopy; they are grand, neat and powerful.

In front of the door

The gate of aitigar mosque is built with yellow brick and pointed with white plaster. It looks very clear and eye-catching. The main gate is 12.6 meters high, the towers on both sides are nearly 18 meters high, the gate is 4.7 meters high and 4.3 meters wide.

There is a fan-shaped 13 steps in front of the door. When you walk up the steps, you will see the hall. There are two copper clad wooden doors, tall and majestic.

The top of the wall above the temple gate is a huge platform 8 meters long and 10.5 meters above the ground. Every grand festival, the sound of sheepskin drum and Suona music will be heard all night on the platform, creating a festive atmosphere for tens of thousands of Muslims gathered in etiga square. The large-scale "Shaman" group dance is unprecedented, which is rare in Xinjiang. It is not only a holy place of religion, but also a place for festivals and celebrations, hence the name "etiga" - a place for festival worship and assembly. As the entrance of the Great Mosque, the temple gate tower ranks first in the whole building in the plastic arts, which can be regarded as the model of Uygur ancient architectural art. It has become the local symbol of Kashgar ancient city and is famous at home and abroad.

courtyard

When you enter the gate, you will see the huge domed arch Baizi. Under the arch Baizi is a polygonal court. There are two passages on both sides leading to the courtyard, and a carved window is sandwiched between the two passages

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