Hilvet Semi-Underground Mosque

Imagine yourself in a time of devotion and prosperity where learning and teaching was of the highest value. Under the earth poetry would echo in prayer and spoken words transferred to script. On this sacred ground Khoja Ahmed Yaswi spoke to the world. His mosque is humble but his storied history reminds us of how great of a man he was.

Embedded beneath the soil is a subterranean 12th century mosque. Khoja Ahmed Yasawi chose this ancient site to preach, write, and teach the Sufi religion. Throughout the Eurasian Steppe the faithful follow the ancient Silk Road towards the grounds of the second Mecca.

The mosque was hand dug by Yasawi himself with stairs leading below a modest dome. Inside you can expect wooden pillars illuminated by skylight, and Sufism exhibits on display. Yaswi would retire to practice his faith, worship, and write. The Turkic peoples would practice Sufism and in time Turkestan became a revered spiritual capital of the world.